Chapter 2 – Painful Truths

Author's Note: Thank you all so, so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! Your support means so much to me! :D

In which Vader is still drugged (so he's half out of it, okay?) and Obi-Wan's Force ghost makes an appearance. ;)

~ Amina Gila

Vader stares at his son with confusion. Why does he seem so horrified? Curse these stupid drugs. He should have known that the Rebels would try something like this. It's not that he can't use the Force to make himself less susceptible; it's that he didn't initially care until his son came with the Princess, who he is fairly convinced is his daughter. And how did that happen? Did his Angel give birth to twins? No. His thoughts are wandering again. He can't keep himself focused on anything courtesy of the drugs running through his veins.

"What did you call me?" the boy whispers, blue eyes – he inherited much of his appearance from Vader – wide with – with fear? Horror?

"Luke," Vader repeats slowly, confused. "That's your name." He knows it is because he and his Angel had spent time choosing the perfect names. Luke. Leia. How did he not realize it any sooner? He should have. It was stupid, and he's completely ruined any chance of getting to know his daughter. He had refused to see what was right in front of him, because it was too painful. He had thought his child dead, and anything to the contrary had to be ignored until the truth was far too obvious for him to overlook.

He hadn't killed his Angel. Sidious had lied about it. And how had he known that she was dead? He didn't have a bond with her; he wouldn't have been strong enough anyways since she wasn't a strong Force sensitive. So, then how did the Emperor know? Did – did he kill her? Was that the plan? But no. If he'd killed her, then she couldn't have given birth, right?

Focus, Anakin. He can almost hear the teasing voice of Kenobi in his mind. Maybe he did hear it. It's impossible though. His old master is dead. He saw him disappear – how did he do that? He was dead though because he felt the pain when their bond snapped. He'd told himself that he didn't care about Kenobi, and he doesn't, but that knowledge didn't quell the sense of loss that he'd felt in that moment. He had stopped thinking, focusing solely on the unbearable pain in his mind which is why the rebels had escaped. And Luke. His son had been there too, hadn't he? He thinks so, but he can't quite remember.

"You called me your son," the boy reminds him quietly, stiffly. Wait. He didn't know?

"I thought I told you," Vader replies, though upon closer analysis, he can't actually remember doing so. He didn't mean to break the news like this. Stupid drugs. He's going to eliminate them from himself in just a moment. "I meant to tell you," he adds, though it won't do much good.

"You didn't – you're not my father!" Luke explodes, glaring daggers at him.

That wasn't the reaction he'd expected, though really, how could his son have known of their relationship? It's not as though anyone would have told him. "I am your father," Vader asserts firmly, pausing for only a moment. "Who did you think I was?"

Luke glowers. "Ben told me that you murdered my father," he grinds out. "I'm not believing a single word that you say."

"Obi-Wan?" Vader echoes slowly. He's had enough. He's probably sounds half-retarded, especially since his brain is too foggy to think clearly. He reaches into the Force, focusing it to locate the drug muddling his mind before forcibly burning it away. The sudden rush of clarity is nearly euphoric. He shakes his head. "He has lied to you, my son."

"No," his son mumbles, stepping back, panic and horror radiating into the Force. "That's not true. It's impossible! You – you can't –" He can't even bring himself to say the word. If his son – who he never personally harmed – is unable to accept their relationship, then what does that say about his maybe daughter? The least he can do is tell them the truth. He is certain that Luke will join him, because if Sidious is meant to be defeated – he is; that's what Kenobi said – then they must work together. He's not strong enough alone.

"Search your feelings," Vader tells him, not ungently. "You know it to be true." Luke shakes his head wordlessly, seeming to be on the verge of panic. Deciding to deal with him later, Vader turns his attention Leia who is vibrating with a quiet rage.

"Leia." At the sound of her name, she stiffens even more, brown eyes – his Angel's eyes – glittering with pure rage. She is strong in the Force. He can feel it now, and she must learn to control herself lest she slip along the same path he's already walked. "I can see the truth now." He speaks slowly, reflectively. "Whether you accept the truth or not, you are my daughter. Kenobi hid both of you from me, but now that we are together again, we can destroy Sidious and dismantle his empire."

He knows neither of his children will let the Empire continue, and truth be told, he doesn't want to be an Emperor. That would require far more political expertise than he has. No. He just wants his family back together. He knew that the moment he attacked his master and failed to kill him. It's all over – his position, his power, his image – but he's made peace with it. None of it matters anymore.

"No," she snarls, sounding just a fierce as her mother could. "You are not my father. My real parents are dead because of you, and I'll never forgive you for it!" With those words, she storms towards the door, a subdued Luke trailing behind her.

Vader doesn't say anything to contradict her, but he does call for his son. "Luke, let me train you," he urges. "Join me. We can defeat the Emperor only if we work together. It will not be long before he realizes the extent of your power."

"I'm not letting you train me," Luke replies, expression carefully blank, though Vader can feel his inner turmoil. He's not shielding nearly as well as he should be, and a quick brush against his Force signature reveals disbelief, shock, fear, anger, and – and joy? He won't push his son anymore today. Luke needs time to think, especially if his mind is set on the lies that he's been told. The door to the cell slides closed behind his children, cutting off from sight but not from feeling. As they walk away, Vader keeps his senses attuned to both of them.

**w**

The Rebel command seemed happy with the information they got from Vader, at least that's Luke's impression. Leia didn't say anything – she seemed rather pleased, in fact – but Luke didn't push. The revelations from the meeting with Vader are still tormenting him. He can't be the son of that – that monster. How could his father, the famous Anakin Skywalker, have become someone as evil as Vader? He wants to reject it. He wants to scream that the Sith is lying, but he knows deep inside of him that Vader spoke nothing but the truth. That, perhaps, hurts him the most. Why would Ben have lied to him like this? He has no answer.

And Leia. Is she really his twin? He instinctively accepts that the answer is yes. Well, if nothing else, he'll have gotten one family member out of this disaster. If only they could run away, just the two of them, and make a life for themselves safely away from Vader and the Empire. He almost laughs at the thought. Leia wouldn't leave any sooner than he would. If they don't fight for freedom, then who will? It's what his fa – it's what Ben would have done. It's what all the Jedi believed in, and Luke wants nothing more than to be a Jedi.

He doesn't want to be near Vader, but he doesn't have a choice. He and Leia must go back to the cell to interrogate the Sith again. Luke can barely keep himself together, so he hasn't had a chance to ask Leia how she feels about the revelations. It's only been a day since they learned the truth, but it feels like a lifetime ago. Everything he thought he'd known has fallen apart.

"Are you ready?" Leia asks, brown eyes worriedly studying him.

He wordlessly shakes his head. "Are you?"

She straightens. "We have to do this," she states firmly, squeezing his hand briefly before they begin the walk to Vader's cell. She's right. They have to do it. They have to put aside their feelings and do what must be done for freedom.

"They gave him drugs again," she comments, breaking the subdued silence. "I don't think they were working well last time, so they tried something else. I'm not sure how it will affect him, but some think that he might have been lying, so we're going to try again and hope that he's less cognizant of what he's saying. I doubt it will work, but it's worth a try."

Luke couldn't agree more. Going into that room feels like a punishment of some sort. What did he do to deserve this? Wiping his sweaty hands on his pant legs, he steps through the door behind Leia, flinching even before the overwhelming presence of Vader hits him.

Unlike previously, Vader is standing on the far side of the room, facing the wall on the left side of the door. His right hand is resting against the wall as though to maintain his balance, and his helmet is tilted at what must be an uncomfortable angle. "He shouldn't be able to stand," mumbles Leia before shrugging and stepping inside anyways. "Lord Vader." Her greeting is just as cold and detached as yesterday, but there's a distinctly wary note in her tone which wasn't there previously.

Vader doesn't even move. Nothing in his Force signature indicates that he realizes they're present. If anything, he seems to be listening to something they can't see or hear. Luke struggles to extend his own senses. He feels something, but he can't tell what it is.

"'M sorry, Master," Vader murmurs, his voice quieter than Luke's ever heard it before. What? Who is he talking to? Is he hallucinating or something? Leia seems to be thinking similarly because she shoots Luke a half-amused, half-confused glance.

"I messed everything up," the Sith Lord continues, sounding much like a chastened child. Luke probes him hesitantly, sensing an overwhelming amount of guilt and fear and hatred and pain. His anger is mostly subdued, which is highly unusual. "Yes, I know I wasn't thinking, 'kay?" Since when does Darth Vader talk so informally? He's never spoken like that before. "I miss you." Luke pinches himself just to make sure that he isn't dreaming. No. He's not. Yes. Vader really just told thin air that he misses "you" whoever that may be.

"Did I kill her, Obi-Wan?" Vader asks beseechingly. What? He's definitely hallucinating because Luke saw Ben die right in front of him. There's a long, awkward pause, before the temperature seems to plummet to subzero. "I should have known he would lie like that!" Vader suddenly roars, anger pulsing around them like a caged beast.

"We should leave," whispers Luke, grabbing Leia's arm. "We can come back later."

"I agree," she replies in an equally low voice, moving towards the door. Around them, the Force erupts, and the room trembles from the force of Vader's fury. The only solid object, the bed, crumples as the door is literally ripped from its place and tossed into the hall. The walls strain under pressure, though they don't give way. Yet.

Luke ducks back, pressing himself against the wall with Leia right beside him. Can he try to stop Vader somehow? Maybe he can try to stab him with the lightsaber, not fatally, of course, but enough to impede his destruction of everything around them. His train of thought is cut off when a blue transparent figure appears in the room. Ben?

"Anakin, stop," he says firmly, yet gently, fearlessly approaching Vader. He reaches out, pressing a hand to the Dark Lord's helmet. Vader makes an unintelligible noise before slumping limply to the floor. He's obviously conscious – he's still moving – but the destruction stops, and his anger is far more controlled than it was a moment ago.

"Ben?" Luke queries, torn between following Leia out of the cell – she just left – and staying here to get answers.

"Luke," the ghost – maybe? – replies, looking towards him. He looks and sounds just like he did when he died. How can he even be here?

"Vader's my father," Luke says numbly, gaze skirting to the Sith Lord who is still on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you lie to me?"

Ben sighs, suddenly seeming weary. "I did what I thought best," he answers. "I was wrong." He pauses, searching Luke's face. "Luke, I feared you getting lost as your father did, but from a certain point of view, what I told you was the truth. When Anakin gave in to the Dark Side, he ceased to be the good man he once was and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. He lost the goodness inside of him, though maybe not as entirely as I was led to believe."

Luke can hear the sadness in Ben's voice. He wants to pretend that he understands and that he's not still upset and betrayed, but he can't. Casting Vader one final look, Luke silently turns and slips away after Leia.