Chapter 199

After she left like that, Laetitia found some Stormtroopers to surrender to. She was taken immediately to the Imperial Base on Endor to be delivered to the Emperor on the Death Star.

She had no idea how to feel about that. To actually see the man who literally destroyed her life? After 20 years? He killed her mother, her husband, seduced her father to the dark side, tortured her and her brother numerous times, not to mention ... destroyed his granddaughter's life.

Leah had to struggle to let go of her anger to not use the dark side in his presence. She didn't want to be angry. That was too risky. She didn't know what she would do if she gave into her anger.

Leah was dragged by an Imperial Commander in a hallway. At the end, Darth Vader was waiting for her ... Her father ... was waiting for her. She didn't need to touch the Force to feel his confusion and conflict. It was written all over the hidden 'face'.

"This is Laetitia Skywalker, the Leader of the Rebellion. She surrendered to us. Although she denies it, I believe there may be more of them, and I request permission to conduct a further search of the area." The Commander requested sternly.

Vader didn't hear a word he said. His eyes were fixed on his daughter, who had ... surrendered. Was she stupid? What the hell was she doing?

"She was armed only with these." He added as he brought out her lightsabers.

Now, Vader turned to the Commander. He took the lightsabers out of his hands and held them in his. The delicate and perfect design ... Only a Skywalker could do that. She was truly his daughter.

"Good work, Commander. Leave us. Conduct your search and bring his companions to me." He ordered.

"Yes, my Lord."

Once they were 'alone', Darth Vader turned to his daughter, who had been glaring him the whole time. It wasn't a death glare, but ... a pity glare? He wasn't sure.

"What are you doing here? Why are you so reckless?" He hissed to her.

"Just to be clear, your goons didn't capture me. I willingly surrendered." Leah stated, ignoring him.

"I know ... and that was foolish of you. You're risking everything, including your life, to face your enemy. It's not worth it. Let them go." He urged, a bit ... begging her?

"I can't ... I'm too stubborn to do that."

"That, you are!" He snapped in irritation.

"You're the one to talk." She shot back.

The way they were talking ... It was like a normal father-daughter bickering. Like they hadn't been apart for 20 years, tortured each other, or ... they weren't who they were.

"It's time we bring peace back to the Galaxy. Not the Republic or the Empire, nor the Jedi Order or the Sith ... but peace. One in between. The people deserve that. They have had enough because of us. The old ways should all be destroyed. We can't change the past ... but we can make sure we learn from it to make sure it won't become our future." Leah stated.

Vader just looked at his daughter, amazed with what she was saying. He knew what she was saying, but ... why did she think that? Could she really forgive him to what he'd done and move on? Because he, himself, couldn't do that.

"You've always known what was right. Even when you were a kid, you made the best decisions an adult couldn't make. Everything you do ... it's in the right step." He quietly said.

Leah scoffed bitterly when she noticed a hint of envy in his voice. Apparently, they were away from each other a bit too long. He had no idea what she had been through.

"No, it's not. It might look that way to others, but I promise you, it's not true. I've done a lot of things I regret. Said a lot of things I wish to take back." She muttered as she looked down in shame.

"Not compared to me, you haven't." He truly said to make her feel better.

What was wrong with him? Just because she wasn't ripping his head off, that didn't mean she had forgiven him. What was he hoping for? Besides, he was still a Sith Lord. He shouldn't have those feelings ...

But he couldn't help it.

"No ... Not compared to you." She bitterly agreed with him.

"I never wanted you to protect me ... not if it meant the cost was this high." Leah suddenly cried out, no longer wanting to avoid the situation.

"I know ... but I wanted to protect you. I wanted to be a good father for you ... but I didn't know how. Then and now, all I know is that I need you in my life. And I will make sure that you are by my side ... no matter what." Vader strongly finished.

Leah gave him a look. She wanted to cover her disappointment, but she didn't know how to. But she wasn't giving up. She ... wanted her dad back.

"Do not look at me like that. It was your mistake to think that I am still Anakin Skywalker. I am, and have always been, Darth Vader. Even when I didn't know the mistakes of the Jedi, it was an impossible choice for me. I was a monster, even then!" Vader shouted.

He hated seeing her eyes. They were so much like ... Padme's. It was torture for him.

"Mom didn't think so." She simply argued.

This time, Vader felt something break inside his body. Her name still made his heart beat faster ... in love and sadness. Leah got right to the point she shouldn't have ... But instead of snapping at her, he simply accepted the truth.

"And I proved her wrong when she paid the price in my place." He quietly said in his cold mechanical voice.

"You didn't kill her ... but you did betray her. Betrayed her name, her memories and her children." She angrily gritted through her teeth. She was losing it.

"I know."

"But you never lost her. She is a part of you ... just like she is a part of me. And just like Thexan is a part of me." She stated with tears in her eyes.

Vader looked up and looked into his daughter's eyes. He didn't need to look at her to know she meant it ... but he still did. He wanted to make sure she actually said it.

"You're being irrational, Laetitia. It is too late for me. The things I have done ..." He was saying, but Leah softly interrupted him.

"I know. I mean, I don't know all of it, but I know enough to know that I wouldn't wanna know the rest ... It's not my place to forgive you for all of it. But for everything you've done to me ... I forgive you." She softly said as she looked into her father's eyes.

Now, Vader was completely speechless. He had no idea what was happening. Did she ... Did he ... What ...?

"But why would you do that?" He whispered in shock.

"Because you're my dad." Leah quietly cried out.

"I told myself over and over again to think of you as a Sith Lord that you were. Or a man who turned his back on his own family, and made me live my whole life alone in despair. 'Since you've already abandoned me, I just need to let go to end our relationship' ... but I couldn't. All I had to do was to let go of your hand ..." She said as she grabbed his hand in desperation.

"... But like an idiot, I couldn't. I can't ... because I am proud to be your daughter, not Anakin Skywalker's or Darth Vader's daughter ... but your daughter. I don't know who you are. I don't think I ever knew ... but I don't care. You are my father, and that is all I know to be true." She softly whispered, crying.

"There is good in you, no matter how much you wanna hide or deny it. I know you love me ..." She strongly said to convince him.

"You were wrong. I didn't come here to make Anakin Skywalker alive again, or kill Darth Vader ... because one doesn't exist without the other. You are both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. You don't have to choose. I accept you for who you are. We all do. Ahsoka, Rex, Kix, Echo, mom, Thexan, Obi-wan, Qui-gon ... Iliana." She finally said.

Vader took a minute to grab his focus again. What she said took away his ability to think again. She wasn't asking him to be one or the other. She ... honestly accepted him for who he was. No one in his life, even Padme or his mother, had even given him that chance.

But when he heard a name she had not heard before, he froze. Iliana ... That was a girl's name ... Her girl's name. Vader took a step back numbly. That was actually one of the things he was curious about ... About what happened to his granddaughter.

Did Leah really trust him that much to give away her name to the monster who was hunting them?

"Come away with me now." Leah begged.

"Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else while we still can! Think about Laetitia!"

She was even saying the same words as her mother. The exact same words, the last words, she said to her lost husband on Mustafar. She was just like Padme. Stubborn and soft. Someone who believed in him ... even when he didn't deserve it.

"Your mother once thought as you do." He simply said, trying to be the Sith Lord he was.

Leah pressed her lips together and waited for him to answer. Her expression was 'so what'. What was he talking about? Was that his way of rejecting her?

"You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my Master." Vader said, asking her to understand.

"I will not turn ... and you'll be forced to kill me." Leah stated strongly, asking him to understand.

"If that is your destiny." He blurted out coldly.

Leah blinked in surprise as she stood still. Was it possible for one person to be this stubborn about his feelings? What was wrong with him?

"I'm gonna sound like a Jedi, but what the hell!" She snapped suddenly.

"Search your feelings, dad. You can't do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate. Please! It's not worth it." She begged.

Vader just stayed quiet as he looked down. He was sure that his skin was wet from the tears under the mask. He had not cried like that ... in a very, very, very long time.

"It is too late for me, kid. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your Master now." He said, covering his shame in coldness.

Before Leah could say anything more, the Stormtroopers, who were waiting, came closer to their Lord. They grabbed her arms to drag her away. Leah remained still, trying to hide her disappointment. She was right ... Believing in her father was nothing but a waste of time.

He didn't want to come back. What the hell could she do about it?

"Guess my father is really dead." She bitterly said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Vader was ... stunned to hear her say that. The coldness and bitterness rang in his ears. She had no idea how much those 5 words hurt him.

Meanwhile on Endor, Luke was left with a lot of questions and confusion. The way Laetitia left ... the way she spoke ... It was clear she had n intention of coming back. It was like she was going to ... die. Not die and come back to life, but ... it would be the last time they ever saw each other.

He didn't want that, especially after the way she left. After what he told her. After she ... dropped a bomb on him.

...

Flashback

Luke and Laetitia were standing on the wooden floor in the forests of Endor. He turned to her with a serious and concerned look on his face. Why was she crying? Why was she sorry?

"What's going on? Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm ... I'm going to the Death Star to confront Darth Sidious." She simply replied.

"Darth Sidious? You mean the Emperor?"

"Yes."

"And you're going alone?" He asked, almost afraid to hear her answer.

"Yes."

"The he... Why alone? Why are you rejecting to have back-up? Look, I understand that you don't want anyone in the way, but ..."

"No, Luke. I have to do this alone because I'm the only one you can. The only person who might have a chance at this is either you or Iliana. And I don't want to put that responsibility on you. Besides ... I have to make up for it somehow." Leah quietly said the last part in guilt.

"Make up for what? Do what? Why ...?" He trailed off with a lot of confusion.

"Because only a Skywalker can bring back the fallen Skywalker." She finally said. It was time. She couldn't un-say it even if she wanted to.

Luke blinked in surprise when he heard that. A fallen Skywalker? Who was she talking about? There were no other Skywalkers, aside from Anakin and Shmi who were dead. Then what ...?

"Wait, you said you're going to confront the Emperor ... What about Vader?" He suddenly asked when realized she left that name out.

Leah gulped in fear and nervousness. Of course he was smart and quick enough to notice that. Though she was hoping for the opposite. She still couldn't find the words to tell him what she needed to tell him.

"I'm not ... going to kill Vader. I want to ... save ... him." She quietly said those words out loud.

Now, Luke was more than confused. He was angry to even hear that. He didn't understand what she was going on about, what was going on in her head, or why she was acting like this.

"Can you please explain what you just said? What do you mean you're gonna 'save him'? What is it about that Sith Lord that makes you like this every time his name is even brought up?!" He almost shouted in anger.

"Why are you defending him? Why do you want to save him? I thought you hated him. You have since you were a kid and first saw him when he killed our parents."

"It's complicated." She simply said.

"Why? Does this have something to do with what you told me when we first met? When you told me you had something to tell me but you couldn't yet." He pointed out.

Leah sighed and took a deep breath to prepare herself. The moment was there. The one she dreaded since she met her brother when she was a baby. She even feared it more because now, she was as guilty as their father was.

"Luke, you know how the Force works, right? It's strong in my family. Our family. I have it, my daughter has it, you have it, and ... our father has it."

"You mean 'had'." Luke corrected her with confusion.

"No, 'has'. He has it." she repeated herself.

"But he's dead. So how ..." He stopped.

His ability to think, breathe, or form words in his head went away all in a second. He didn't dare finish his question. How, indeed, was it possible for their father to have the Force when he was dead? The answer was simple.

Anakin Skywalker wasn't dead. He was alive, and he was ... Darth Vader. Darth Vader was him. He was ...

Luke took a step back in horror and fear. He finally figured out what she was hiding from him. Anakin, their father, didn't die during Order 66. Somehow he survived, and became ... the most hated man in the Galaxy. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like a big rock was pressing his chest to stop the breathing. His head was spinning around and he knew he was seconds away from throwing up in disgust.

How did this happen? Why did this happen? When, why? His father was the man he had idolized for all his life, even before he knew he had the honor of being his son. Now, he found out it wasn't an honor at all. His father, the Hero With No Fear, was no hero. He was the villain, the ... enemy.

Darth Vader.

Meanwhile, Laetitia was just looking at her brother, desperate tears in her eyes which were begging him to say something. This was exactly what she was afraid of, and why she hadn't said anything until now. She didn't want Luke to go through the same pain she went through. The same confusion.

She was afraid to look him in the eye, but she also couldn't dare say anything. One wrong word, and he would lose it. But when Luke started walking away, Leah couldn't ignore him.

"Luke, please stop. Don't just walk away. Scream or yell at me, if you want. Just please ..." She begged him quietly.

"What I want is to be alone for a minute." Luke pleaded, not looking back to his sister.

"Well, what I want is to tell you the whole story." Leah pushed.

She didn't have the time to wait around for much longer. Besides, there was a good chance she wouldn't come back from confronting their father. Luke deserved to know the whole truth. He had been lied to enough in his life.

"About time!" He snapped angrily as he stopped and fixed his eyes on her.

Leah had never seen Luke like that. He was always the 'calm Skywalker', the one who would never lose it. But now, he was completely different. Luke noticed the difference himself when he saw the look on her face. He took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Look, I get it. Now, it makes sense why he was obsessed with you. I can't even imagine what you went through when you found out in Dagobah . That's why you were a wreck. I get it." He maturely tried to brush it off.

Leah didn't know whether to correct him or not. He thought the reason why she was depressed after visiting Yoda was because that's when she learned the truth?

"Master Yoda didn't tell me. I knew from before then." She hesitated to say.

"What? Since when? ... When did you find out about him, Leah?!" He raised his voice in anger.

"Since before Malachor." She quietly said as she closed her eyes to not look him in the eye.

Luke just stared at his sister for a second. The betrayal and hurt he was feeling ... It was enough to call for the feelings he buried deep inside. So she had been lying since the second they met? Since the beginning? Why? Did she not trust him enough? Did she think he couldn't handle the truth or that he would turn to the dark side in anger and kill their father?

He didn't know which one was worse, but one thing was clear. Laetitia, his sister whom he loved more than anyone else ... didn't trust him.

"It was even before I met you. I had a hard time believing it, too. But ..." Leah tried to explain, but Luke interrupted her harshly.

"What I have a hard time believing right now is that we talked about him. You've told me stories of how heroic our father was. And you let me go on and on about how much I wanted to be like him, to meet him ... All that with when he introduced himself to me with a torture droid!" He stated angrily.

"I was going to tell you. Right after we destroyed the Death Star and we had the victory party. I was going to tell you ... but then, you had nightmares about him and told me how much you hated and feared him. That ... I just froze. I couldn't hurt you any more than you already were." She cried out quietly.

Luke didn't know what to say to that. He always knew she was keeping something from him. And he was the one who told her that she could keep that secret for as long as she thought it was necessary. He felt like he had no right to be mad at her, especially since she felt how bad and honest she was about it.

"Who else knows?" He suddenly asked, which caught her off guard.

"Uh ..."

"Who else?"

"Everyone." Leah quietly replied, again looking down in shame.

"I doubt it was public knowledge, Leah. Name the people who know this. Was it just Ahsoka?" He demanded.

Now that he knew she was lying to him, he knew exactly how to read her face and what she was thinking. Now, everything was clear ... and it hurt.

"Ahsoka, Lux, Rex, Han, Chewie, Thexan, Arcann and Mon Mothma." She named everyone.

If Luke was angry before, he was now furious. He was completely consumed in anger and rage. Leah could swear that for a split second, his eyes were flashing yellow. This was all her fault.

"You were right. 'Everyone' is the right for it ... Arcann knows that my father is Darth Vader, but I don't?" He asked in hurt and betrayal.

"Everyone I love has been keeping this from me? Why? Why didn't you tell me?!" He shouted, crying in anger and sadness.

"Ahsoka talked me out of it."

"No, this isn't about Ahsoka. It's about you! I trusted you to be honest with me. And from the second we met, you've been lying to me. You didn't even want to tell me you were my sister. I figured it out and forced you. When uncle Owen and aunt Beru lied to me, I trusted you ... I thought I could at least count on you to tell me the truth." He cried out quietly.

"I'm sorry." Was all Laetitia could say.

"You were all I had. You've been taking care of me and protecting me since before I was born. But now ... I have no idea what to do." He whispered in tiredness and sadness.

Luke had never felt like this before. Even when he was going through something, Leah was the person he knew he could always count on. The person who had never lied to him. The one who ... trusted him, and let him make all the decisions he wanted. He had never felt this lonely in his life.

"Luke ... I understand you might never forgive me for lying to you. I am sorry for breaking your trust. I don't know if I'll ever have a chance to earn it back again, if I even deserve to." Leah simply said, accepting the facts.

"I have to go. You can ask the details from Ahsoka about everything. BB-8 and R-2 also have some footages you may want to use. Just remember ... I never meant to hurt you. I love you ... no matter what happens."

End of flashback

...

Done :(