"This whole friggin' time," Han fumed, his clenched fists resting on his hips, "You've been going off and killing people?!"

There was no point in denying it. Luke sort of wished he had Mara there, soothing both him and Han down, but Han had just dropped her off to pick up her own ship. Now they were back at their home in the quiet English countryside just outside London's outskirts but were still in the Falcon, staring each other down. Chewie stood immobile at Han's side, arms crossed, and though Luke couldn't clearly see his expression due to all his shaggy hair, he could tell that Chewie was glaring at him, not to mention being able to feel in the Force the large Russian man's intense anger coming off him in waves. Luke winced. "I had no choice, Han. I had to kill them...every single one of them! If I'd let them live, they would have tracked me…no, us down and killed us instead."

"No, Kid. Not us. You." Han snapped, jabbing his right index finger toward Luke. "There had to be another way to deal with them after getting the information out of them you needed. If you had just come to me and told me the truth about what was going on, we could have worked something else out! Killing them was just plain...stupid. "

"Look, it's not like we haven't killed people before," Luke pointed out the obvious, but even he had to admit it was a feeble excuse. He knew it wasn't about that for Han, and it was the wrong thing to say in that moment to his already furious friend.

"It's not about that!" Han roared, gesturing wildly with his arms around the three of them. "You lied to me! You hid important information from me! On purpose! You could have gotten yourself killed, or brought that danger home and left us," Han motioned between himself and Chewie,"Unprepared to deal with it! And, nowyou're so out of control you even lashed out at your own father!" Chewie said something unintelligible to Luke's ears in his thick accent, and Han sighed. "Okay, yeah, sure, your father tried to kill you at one point a long, long time ago, but he wasn't trying to kill us at that particular moment. Dammit, Luke, he was trying to apologize to you, and you almost killed him! You wouldn't even listen to him! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Han raked his hands roughly through his hair, causing it to stick up at all different angles.

Luke was silent, dropping his eyes to the floor, his mind flashing back to the look on his father's face as he'd strangled him with the Force. For once in his life, he actually felt guilty for something he'd done, for what he'd just done to his father. It was an unexpected feeling—he'd spent years, after all, dreaming about getting his revenge and killing his dad. But when he'd come close to doing so, the hurt, and also the strange understanding, he'd glimpsed in his father's eyes chilled him to the bone. Had he actually killed him…he shuddered, forcing the thought away, but that did nothing to chase away the heart-wrenching guilt that stayed with him.

What had he done?!

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?!" Han demanded after Luke said nothing for a while. Luke lifted his gaze to meet his friend's eyes, seeing the hurt and betrayal in them. Force, he'd hurt so many people. And, Luke had to admit...it hadn't been Palpatine who had done that—it had been him. He was the one hurting and pushing people he cared about away. Perhaps, it was a curse pronounced on the Skywalkers by the Force. He didn't really know. Either way, he found that he couldn't think of anything remotely adequate to say to his friends. Han glanced at Chewie, who shook his own head, and sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Get off my ship."

Luke flinched as if Han had punched him. Being kicked off the Falcon was literally worse than getting kicked out of their home. Han only allowed his most trusted friends on his ship, and to tell someone to get off…He had a sad feeling there might be no coming back from this. Slowly, he stood, making his way to the lowered boarding ramp. He paused just before exiting. "Do you want me to move out of the house, too?" He asked quietly over his shoulder but not looking at the two men behind him.

Han was silent for a long time. "I don't know yet. I'll think about it."

The words were not unexpected, but they were still painful. Luke didn't argue though—he deserved those words. So instead, he turned back to the ramp and left the Falcon. He didn't turn back even as the Falcon's engines fired up, and he heard the ship take off into the night sky.


KKKKKK

Sighing, Luke shoved his hands in his pockets. He had never felt as alone as he did in that moment.

"We're almost there, Leia." His voice was a hoarse whisper, and he was barely able to get the words out. Since coming to this world, he had regretted the many times as Vader he'd strangled someone to death, but now that he'd actually experienced being Force choked himself—by his own son's hand, no less—he regretted it even more...Force! Especially having done that to Padme, and Anakin realized that the moment he saw his Angel again, he knew, despite how many times he'd already apologized for it over the years, that he'd drop to his knees before her and apologize again and again until she forced him to stand up and stop.

Leia, who had been silent the whole ride, nodded, staring out the viewport of the cockpit. She had a strange expression on her face, as if she'd wiped herself clean of all emotion. She hadn't even shown a flicker of a response when he'd comm'd Padme and had gotten the news that she'd found a lead on the Millennium Falcon in London, was enroute there with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and their youngest son, Hayden, from Germany, and had asked that he and Leia come meet them there on the outskirts of London. After she'd sent them the address, they had immediately taken off from Namibia, heading for England.

Anakin had no doubt what the cause of his daughter's troubles were. After calling on the Force to help ease some of the pain and swelling inside his abused throat and larynx, he was finally able to breathe normally again, and the look of horror and betrayal on Leia's face, as she watched him struggle to even breathe, was obvious. Leia had always felt strongly about right and wrong. Even as a very young toddler she'd had -and expressed-rather strong opinions. He suspected that despite having been warned of what Luke was becoming, Leia hadn't truly believed her parents on the matter. To her, Luke was a hero, trapped by the villain. Plain and simple. Anytime she had ever considered Luke becoming allies with the villain, he was sure she'd pushed that thought away immediately. But now…

His throat throbbed painfully, and he gently rubbed his neck.. Force, Padme! I'm so, so sorry, Sweetheart! He couldn't help but think back for a second, as the image of his choking wife on Mustafar filtered into his thoughts, to be quickly replaced by thoughts of his son's face contorted in rage, arm outstretched towards him...

Luke…his heart broke at the thought of his precious son, being in so much turmoil, so much confusion and hatred. Though he now better understood what it had been like for Padme to be attacked like that by him, he also understood his wife's continuing faith in his goodness even after everything he'd done. There was still good in Luke. He knew there was. When Luke had released him, through his daze, he'd felt that small spark of Light in his son, accompanied by confusion and an overwhelming sense of guilt. But, Anakin was also extremely experienced in the Dark Side of the Force. He knew when someone was close to the edge of giving in fully to the Dark Side. If he didn't find his son fast…Luke would be lost.

Probably forever.

No. Anakin wasn't about to let that happen. His son would be redeemed...whether he wanted to be or not didn't matter. This time, when he found Luke, it wouldn't be to convince him to listen. No, he had a feeling that he was going to have to drag Luke back to the Jedi Temple and keep him in underground holding until he could get him to at least listen rationally. If Luke still decided to go down the path he was currently going down…well, he'd figure out what to do when and if they came to that bridge. For now, he just needed to find Luke and bring him home.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Leia." He finally said, his voice firm but gentle. He put the ship on autopilot, swiveling his chair to face her fully.

For a moment, she just stared out the window, not making a sound. He wondered if she would ignore him and refuse to answer—it wouldn't be the first time she'd done something like that. But, as he opened his mouth to press her, she finally asked, "Why are we still looking for him? He clearly doesn't want to be found." There was so much hurt and bitterness in her voice, he had the urge to reach over and pull her into his arms to hold her until she was happy again. In many ways, the twins being little had been much easier to deal with than them being almost adults. Problems were less complicated to solve with toddlers and preschoolers than older teens.

And, this was certainly a complicated issue to be sure, and one that no amount of hugs would solve. Anakin sighed. Leia was volatile in her own unique way. He had to tread carefully here. "Your brother is lost right now. He…he doesn't have all the information, and Palpatine has obviously manipulated and hurt him. Badly."

"But, Luke's gone rogue! Palpatine isn't controlling him anymore, Dad!" Leia looked at him, her deep brown eyes, so like her mother's, filled with accusation...and hurt. "The person I saw back there sure seemed like my brother at first, but he's not. My brother wouldn't ever hurt you, Daddy." Her voice broke, but Leia, being the stubborn, strong-willed, young woman that she was, didn't cry. Crying wasn't her style.

Anakin reached over and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "There is still good in him, Leia. I feel it. It's buried under years of pain and loss, but it's there. Luke needs his family—now more than ever. If we give up on him, abandon him to the Dark Side, then he will truly be lost." He paused, the Force swelling a bit within him, throbbing in his chest. Though he wished it didn't have to be in this exact moment, he knew what he needed to do. It was time. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and looked in his daughter's eyes.

"I know what that feels like, Princess."

Leia frowned, turning back to him. "What do you mean, Daddy?" He had her full attention now. He had a feeling that she'd sensed a change in the Force, had sensed that he was about to reveal something to her that would change everything. Still, as she waited silently for him to speak, his throat tightened again, and this time not from the damage Luke had done. Now that it was time, it was so much harder to just come out and say it, to admit the truth of who he had been so long ago…what the true legacy of their family had been, once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away.

He, therefore, chose his words carefully.

"Do you remember those stories I told you and your brother when you were really little?" Anakin finally began, his voice so tight he could barely get the words out.

Leia frowned. "You mean the ones with our family in space or whatever?" She shrugged hesitantly. "Not all the details, but sure."

He paused, willing himself to say it. "They weren't make believe stories, Princess. They're true. Every one of them." He waited for Leia's reaction, but she just stared at him, blinking, willing him to finish his explanation. It was actually something Padme did whenever he started to say something that would land him in hot water. She'd calmly wait to see if he would dig his hole deeper, or if he would dig himself out of it, before she responded. Given that Leia also looked very much like Padme (and had her mother's determination and spunk in spades), it was very eerie to face his daughter this way, and his courage almost cracked. He struggled to clear his throat before he kept going. Nodding his head affirmatively, he said, "I am not from this galaxy. Neither is, well, our entire family, and many of the other Jedi you know. I'm from a planet called Tatooine. So is the Lars family. Your mother and all of her family are from the planet Naboo, as is Palpatine. Your mother was a Galactic Senator representing Naboo, and I was once a Jedi, and we lived in a time of political turmoil and war in a far distant galaxy. In those days, the Jedi Order was very strict on not forming attachments of any kind. Younglings, as children were called there, were taken from their parents by the Jedi shortly after birth if they showed a high enough midichlorian count to designate them as Force Sensitive and were raised in a nursery by Jedi called a creche. Thus, Jedi were not even allowed to have familial bonds. I, however, was not brought to the Jedi until I was nine, and thus, I had already learned how to love from my mother. I met and fell in love with your mother, and eventually we married in secret."

He paused at this point to gather his thoughts and watched his daughter as she assimilated what he'd just said. Her face betrayed no emotion, which was a bit unnerving, but then, this was a lot to take in, he acknowledged. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his hands together and continued speaking.

"I fought as a General for the Republic forces alongside Snips and Obi-Wan in the Clone Wars. I was known as the 'Hero With No Fear'—I told you and Luke those stories. The wars were very dangerous, and I saw many horrifying, unspeakable things during those years. I thought I was fighting for a good cause, and I was intensely loyal to Chancellor Palpatine, who I thought, at the time, was a good man." He shook his head in disgust. "Little did I know then that Palpatine was actually the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, the single most evil being the galaxy had seen in millennia, and he had foreseen my potential from a very young age. He took every opportunity to grow close to me during my years at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the capital planet of the galaxy, and he became, what I considered to be, a trusted friend. I was loyal to him—I believed in him. He seemed to understand me in ways the Jedi never could."

Another long pause had his throat tightening again at what he would reveal next.

"Your mother and I had been married for three years when she became pregnant with you and your brother. I was away fighting in the war in the Outer Rim sieges for the first five months of her pregnancy. When I got home and found out we were expecting, I was so happy. I remember the joy I felt when your mother told me. I wanted you and Luke so much. I wanted to be a happy family, all of us together. But, almost immediately, the nightmares began. I dreamed that Padme…your mother, died in childbirth. I had lost my own mother after I had ignored Force induced dreams of her death, and I couldn't bear to lose my wife, too. I went to Master Yoda for help, but the Jedi gave me no real help. Just told me to let my feelings and attachments go, but I couldn't do that. I loved my family. So, when Palpatine told me that only through the Dark Side could I save my wife from death, I believed him."

He paused, swallowing hard, clutching his knees with both hands . "I was desperate, Leia. I was willing to do anything to save your mother, including turning myself into the very thing I had sworn as a Jedi to destroy...A Sith. When the Jedi came to arrest Palpatine after his discovery as the Sith Lord, I stopped Master Windu from striking Sidious down. Windu was killed, and then Palpatine dubbed me his Sith apprentice, which I willingly agreed to become, and he ordered me to execute the top secret Order 66, to destroy the Jedi. I-I…marched to the Temple with the Clone army, and I killed most of the Jedi Order. I murdered all the younglings. Then, I was sent to the volcanic planet of Mustafar on a mission by Sidious. When your mother followed me and tried to bring me back to the Light, I didn't listen to her. Obi-Wan, who intended to kill me, stowed away on her ship without her knowledge, figuring she would try to come after me. When Obi-Wan left her ship, I assumed she had betrayed me, and I was so angry, I Force choked her...yes, my own pregnant wife," He said on a garbled whisper, feeling his daughter's horror through the Force.

He took a steadying breath and then continued,"She didn't die immediately, but I was so filled with anger, with despair and sorrow and fear, that I couldn't even stop myself from hurting the one person I had always loved most." There was an emotion-charged silence in the cockpit as Leia absorbed his words, but she didn't stop him, understanding he had more to say. Taking that as encouragement to continue, Anakin said, "Obi-Wan and I fought, and I lost the battle with him. After that I became a monster, not only on the inside but on the outside as well. I lost most of my body in that duel. Sidious came to Mustafar and found me lying on the lava riverbank where I had fallen, and he took me back to Coruscant for care. When I awoke, in a horrid black suit and mask with the new name of Darth Vader, Sidious told me I had killed your mother…and my unborn child. I thought that any trace of Anakin Skywalker had died that day, died with your mother. I spent the rest of that life living as a ruthless Sith Lord who killed without remorse, without mercy. I don't even know how many innocent beings I killed. I became a killing machine, controlled by the Emperor.

"Your mother lived long enough to give birth to you and your brother. Luke was sent to Tatooine with Obi-Wan and raised as a farmer by Owen and Beru. You were raised by Bail Organa and his wife, Breha, as a Princess on Alderaan. You grew up to become a leader in the Rebellion against the Empire. I finally caught you smuggling secrets for the Emperor's ultimate weapon, the Death Star, which was capable of destroying an entire planet, and not knowing who you were to me, I…I tortured you. I held you while you watched your planet be destroyed by that weapon. Later, I tortured your boyfriend and almost succeeded in taking him away from you. I hunted you across the galaxy with the intent to destroy you. I didn't even know you were my daughter until I came to this world and Obi-Wan told me who you were.

"I did find out about Luke being my son. I hunted the galaxy relentlessly for him. I killed so many rebels to get to him. I used you to draw Luke out of hiding. I dueled him, and though my intent at first was not to actually harm him, I lost control of my temper and ended up cutting off his right hand. But…despite all that, Luke…Luke didn't give up on me. He barely knew me, and what he did know was not anywhere close to good. But, he insisted that there was good in me, and though we dueled again on the Death Star, he continued to push me to come back to the Light. It was his faith in me that ended up saving me.

"Palpatine was trying to kill Luke with blasts of Sith lightning. But, I couldn't let that happen. Luke was my son...So, I turned on Palpatine, and I killed him to save Luke, but in doing so, I also sacrificed my own life. I expected, honestly, to go to the Jedi-version of Hell, given everything that I'd done after your mother's death. Even though I had returned to the Light at the very end, I had done so many awful, unforgivable things. But instead, the Force brought me here, to Earth, reuniting me with your mother and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, and the Force gave me this life now to live as a second chance...a chance where I…I have spent so many years repenting for what I'd done. I still don't think I've completely atoned for any of it, and I doubt I ever fully will, but…" he sighed again, looking at Leia once more. She was no longer looking at him. She was staring at her hands in her lap, her eyebrows furrowed. "I love you, Leia. I love your mother. I love both of your brothers. I love all of you so very much. All I want for all of you is for you to be happy. I want you to have the life you should have had before I ruined it all. Right now, your twin brother…has done some pretty bad things, true, but they aren't yet anywhere near what I have done. How can I possibly ask for forgiveness and then turn my back on my son when he needs it? How can I turn my back on him after he believed in me?"

Leia lifted her head to stare at her father for a moment and then glanced away.

"No. I will continue to believe in him and the goodness that I know is there until he's home with us and safely away from that monster...and I would do the same thing for you, your mother, or Hayden. Because I love you."

Leia was silent for a very long time. Her skin had gone pale, her brown eyes wide and glittering with unshed tears. For a moment, Anakin worried that she didn't believe him, but she finally let out a shuddering breath. "I should think you're insane." She said in a quivering voice, "But, I don't. Somehow…I always knew."

Anakin frowned in concern. "Have you had… dreams about it?"

Leia slowly shook her head, still not looking at him. "I…I don't…" She looked like she was about to be sick. "I…I need time to think about this."

"Leia," Anakin began, reaching for her…but she pulled away. He drew his hand back, stung. It would have been better had she slapped him. Honestly, he had always feared Leia's reaction to the truth more than he had feared Luke's. He had done horrible things to Leia in their past life. Though he had always intended on telling Leia the truth at some point, he couldn't deny a part of him had enjoyed the fact that she didn't remember. In all honesty,he was terrified that she would remember, or somehow find out, and then reject him as her father. He'd already lost Luke for too long in this life. He didn't want to lose Leia, his only daughter, too. He let his hands fall back into his lap. "I wish…not a day goes by for me that I don't wish I could take it all back. But, I can't. Sorry doesn't even begin to cover it, but please, please believe me, Leia…" he sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. So, so sorry."

Leia abruptly stood up then, a strange, pained expression on her face. She still refused to look at him. "I need to think." She didn't wait for him to stop her. She turned and left the cockpit, heading into the back of the ship, likely to the living quarters to be alone until Anakin touched down in London. He watched his daughter go with a heavy heart. He knew that telling her the truth was the right thing to do, but he couldn't help but worry that he'd just pushed his daughter away from him forever.

Suddenly, he felt very, very alone.


Luke sat alone in his room at his desk. The only light in the room was the desk lamp shining down on the paper he was sketching on. The curtains had been pulled over the windows, leaving him feeling like he was isolated from the rest of the outside world. Normally, he liked looking out at the trees or opening his window to smell the fresh air, or listen to the sounds of the calm serenity of nature. Today, he did not want any of that. It was too contrary to the turmoil he was in.

The calm would only frustrate him further.

He stubbornly worked on the X-shaped ship from his dreams. He drew detailed plans, as if he had the time and money to build it once the plans were completed. It came to him naturally, just as it always had. He knew every part of that little ship like it was part of his own soul. Now, however, as he drew, flashes of pain, accompanied by brief visions of flying the craft through space, stabbed into his head. It wasn't the first time he'd had this stupid pain. He'd been having it for far too long, and it had delayed his completion of the ship's drawing.

Not this time. He…he wasn't in control of anything anymore, it seemed. He was no longer an Inquisitor, set to become a Sith Apprentice. He was no longer a secret boyfriend to a beautiful, kind, fiery girl from South America. He was potentially no longer a friend to Han and Chewie. He was no longer a son or a brother. He had no doubt that, after the events of the last twenty-four hours. What was left of his family thoroughly hated him. Even…Even Leia. He stopped, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, trying to calm himself down. He had to get control. The drawing was not going to give him control of his life again, no, but it would give him control of something.

He was so focused on the drawing, on the pain in his head, and his roiling emotions, that he missed it when his door quietly opened. "Luke." Mara's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Her voice was both firm, but gentle. He tore his eyes away from his drawing and saw her standing there. She had changed out of the clothes she'd been wearing since they'd gone to the club…Force, that date felt like so long ago now. She stared at him for a moment, and then without waiting for his invitation, she entered the room, walking over and sitting down on the edge of the bed so that she could be near him, see what he was working on. A peculiar expression crossed her face. "Where have you seen that?" She flicked her wrist at the drawing.

Her voice was so filled with urgency, it managed to startle him. "Um," he looked down at it. Other than the strange X-shape of the wings, it didn't look that strange. "I've had dreams about this ship since before I can remember." He thought back, trying to remember the first time he'd dreamt of it…and a thought came into his mind, a thought so random and out of place, he barely realized how strange it was before he blurted it out. "I wanted...to build it one day with my father."

As Mara frowned, looking at him suspiciously, he wondered where that thought had come from. Even before his mother's death, he hadn't had a good relationship with his father. Why would he want to build his dream ship with him? Sure, his father knew a ton about building ships…it was what had gotten him the position of the Director over NASA, after all. But, that didn't mean that Luke would ever do something he loved so much with him. He didn't want to share that love with a man like his 's what his head said at least, but his heart clenched painfully, as if that idea wasn't true at all.

"Well," Mara said softly, slowly, as if choosing her words carefully, "It will be a cool ship when it's built. It'll be just right for you."

Though he didn't feel happy at all in that moment, her words managed to put a small smile on his face. "Thanks." They lapsed into silence for a while, just staring at the drawing. Finally, Luke asked, "Are you here to tell me to leave the house?"

"Of course not." Mara responded immediately, firmly.

Hesitantly, he looked back at her, looking for a lie. There was only conviction in her expression, however. "Then, why are you here?" The moment he asked the question, his mind flashed back to their brief, desperate kiss at the base, and he blushed.

Mara raised an eyebrow, but she didn't bring the kiss up. Yet. Instead she said, "I think it's time you came clean, Luke."

His whole body froze. He knew she wasn't stupid. He could practically see the suspicion or disbelief in her electrifying green gaze whenever he told her even a half truth. Deep down, he'd always known this confrontation would come one day. He'd just wished that it never actually would. Apparently, the Force had deemed his time up on that score.

Taking his silence as him avoiding her question, she pressed again. "You act like you can do everything by yourself. Well, news flash, Luke...You can't. No one can, especially anyone who has goals like yours. You need help, Luke, and I want to help you, but you have to tell me whatever it is that you're hiding."

Luke tensed. His whole being rejected the idea of needing help. He hadn't been raised by Palpatine to ask for help. If he did need it, he'd been raised to take it, willingly or not. He could never hurt Mara like that, though. She looked at him now only with concern, and…was there something else there deep in her eyes? He sighed, turning away. "It's not a happy story."

"I know."

"You may decide not to help me after I tell you."

"No, I won't. I'm with you till the end. Nothing you do or say will change that." He doubted that, but he didn't argue. Instead, he took a deep breath and began his tale, blue eyes downcast, staring at the floor, lost in a whirling mist of memories.

"My father and I never got along. He was close to my twin sister, Leia, and Leia was close to him. They did everything together. She was his little 'Princess.' I was close to my mother, though. When I was lonely, she was always there for me. She used to make the best chocolate chip cookies for me. But, when I was eight, she had another baby—my brother, Hayden. At that point, I was basically ignored." He shrugged. "I told myself I didn't mind. I have always found peace in solitude. But, it was hard after Hayden arrived, especially with my father paying more attention to him. Yeah, I know...he was a baby. I get that, but I was his son, too, I figured. I hadn't done anything wrong. Why would he just…ignore me like that?"

"Anyhow, one night while my father and most of the Jedi were out on a mission, someone broke into our home. A man. I don't know who he was. I got my sister and baby brother to safety upstairs, but I could hear my mother was in trouble downstairs. I knew…I knew I wasn't strong like my father, but someone needed to protect her." He cut off, the next words sticking in his throat. He'd never admitted this aloud. He'd never talked to anyone about this, not even Talia. He had kept these memories locked deep inside him where they had festered and rotted his very soul. Still, Mara waited patiently, calmly, and he forced the words out. "I found a gun in my mom's closet in a drawer. I…didn't have anything else. So, I grabbed it and went downstairs with it. I tried to threaten the man, but he just laughed and hurt my mom more. She told me to run, but I wouldn't listen. I tried….I tried to sh…s-shoot the man, but I….I shot….I shot my mother instead."

The words practically tumbled out of him now, as if an internal dam had broken, giving way to a flood of emotion he couldn't stop. "It was an accident! I never wanted to hurt her. I loved her! I was just trying to protect her. Not only did I fail to protect her her,but I-I...k-killed her. She died in front of me, lying in a pool of blood. The man got away, and she just lay there, her blood soaking our living room carpet, staring at me as she died. I could feel her fear, feel her intense pain, and I knew I was the one who had caused it. My mom died at my own hand. When my father returned home not long after, and he saw what I'd done…my mother was his whole world. He lost it. He tried to kill me…He beat me, and somehow…I don't really remember how, but somehow I managed to escape him." He frowned. His father was the most powerful Jedi ever. He'd always wondered why his father hadn't just run him through with his lightsaber...or Force choked him even. It would have been much easier to kill an eight-year-old kid with one stroke from a lightsaber than by beating him to death. He shook the thought away and continued.

"Anyway, somehow Palpatine found me. He brought me into the Inquisitors, raising me in the use of Dark Side of the Force, and I became Starkiller. All of the other Inquisitors had been there since they were toddlers, but I worked hard. Soon, I was at the top of my class. The only person who rivaled me was my partner, Fireheart. We both wanted to become Palpatine's Sith apprentice, and we competed for the position. Despite that, she and I…well. We weren't supposed to, but we dated in secret. Our mission was supposed to be focused on becoming a Sith Apprentice, not falling for one another." He hesitated, wondering how much info he should give her. Again, his kiss with Mara flashed through his head. He was pretty sure telling a potential romantic interest of his failed past relationship was normally a big no-no. But, Mara had asked for the truth, so he would give her the truth….well, the short version of it.

"She became his apprentice. Or rather, she was supposed to. Palpatine killed her—she died in my arms. I'm still not sure why he killed her, but…" he pushed the memories away before he could dwell too much on it. "I snapped. I vowed revenge, and I killed almost everyone in that base you were taken to. When I was…sort of myself again, I wandered in the desert until I meandered into that little town—where I met you." He sighed, afraid to look at her. What would he see in her expression if he did? "You know the rest."

He wasn't sure what he expected from her. Yelling? Accusations of being a murderous monster? Silence? But, Mara was always full of surprises, and she did none of that. "Look at me." She said firmly. Hesitantly, he did as she bid, almost flinching when he met her intense green gaze…and he frowned in confusion with what he saw there.

Understanding. Just like his father as he choked him. But why?

"Listen to me, Luke. None of that is your fault. Do you understand me? None of it." He opened his mouth to object, but she held up a hand, cutting him off. "Let's just say that I understand, Luke." She sighed, pursing her lips and nodding her head before she continued,"To be honest, I haven't been 100% truthful with you either. You see, I…I knew Palpatine."

Luke stared at her like she had just told him that it was literally raining cats and dogs outside. "But….how?! I would have heard about you…"

"No, believe me, you wouldn't have." There was bitterness in her voice, surprising him. He had never heard her be bitter before. "I was a secret. He…he used me. Manipulated me. I did terrible, awful things for him. In the end, he tried to get me to kill someone I cared about very much, but I couldn't do it. I had nightmares about it—so many, awful, gut-wrenching nightmares that would keep me awake at night." She shuddered, as if reliving those memories.

"Why didn't you do it?" Luke asked softly.

Mara met his gaze again before replying seriously, "Because someone very wisely told me once that my choices are my own. I don't have to do anything I don't really want to do." She leaned forward, her face inches away from his. Despite the fact that she had his full attention, he couldn't help but glance down at her lips. "You have a choice too, Luke. You've already made plenty of choices, bad choices that I promise you will lead you down a dark dangerous path full of utter misery and loneliness." She hesitated, and slowly she reached up, touching his cheek gently with her fingers, caressing his cheekbone. Her touch was like fire spreading across his skin, and his breath caught in his throat. Without realizing it, he was leaning into her touch. "You're a good person, Luke. You have so much Light still in you, and right now, you're hiding that Light in a dark, deep abyss. I don't want to lose you to that darkness. Don't…don't leave me. Not like that."

Luke swallowed hard, barely breathing. She was so near, and there was so much pleading in her eyes….Force, she really was worried about him. Given what he'd done, almost killing his own father in a moment of lost control… for the first time, Luke began to worry about himself, too. "Why…why are you staying with me, Mara? What have I ever done to deserve your friendship?" Or your love? A part of him added mentally.

Mara's emerald eyes softened, and she leaned closer. They were mere centimeters away from each other now. "Because, Luke Skywalker, I believe in you. I believe in your goodness. Just because you're struggling right now, that doesn't change how…how I feel about you."

There it was. And, with her admission, Luke's mouth went dry, and he was suddenly speechless. When he did force himself to speak, his voice cracked. "F-Feel…about me?"

There was a moment's hesitation in Mara's eyes, but also steely determination. "Yes, Luke. I…I realize that you've lost someone else, someone you cared for deeply, and maybe now isn't the best time since…well, everything is so crazy and sorta up in the air, but I do feel something for you—something strong, and…"

He closed the distance between them, his lips crushing hers, cutting her off mid-sentence. She jerked a little in surprise, but quickly relaxed. Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck. His hands went to her waist, pulling her off the edge of the bed and onto his lap. Their kiss, unlike the last one which had been full of anger and desperation, was full of hesitance at first, but quickly melted away into one of sizzling passion, her lips parting for his, and his parting for hers, their tongues wrapping around the other's in a slow heated dance. Although his brain was still swelling with confusion, and his heart ripped with inner turmoil, this felt right, and good, and something deepinside him cried out that he'd been missing her for a very, very long time.

Talia flashed through his brain briefly, and he paused, suddenly pulling away, ending the kiss. Both of them breathed hard, staring at one another wide-eyed. "Luke?" Mara's voice was barely above a whisper, husky but filled with hope.

He took her in, sweeping his cerulean gaze over her features. Her heart-shaped face. Her flaming red hair. Her soft, luscious lips. Her emerald green eyes that sent waves of emotion crashing through him every time she looked at him. She was not Talia. She was nowhere near Talia. Though Talia's codename had been Fireheart, she had been a rather gentle soul, thrown into a dark world that had ended up consuming her. He had loved her gentleness, her optimism, her rather gutsy determination in a tough situation. But, Talia was gone and she was never coming back.

Mara was here. Mara was a burning flame to his wall of ice...and as a fire will do, she was thawing that ice encasing him.

He could feel it.

Everyone he'd ever cared about at some point seemed to leave. Yet, he'd told Mara of his dark deeds, his tragic past, and she'd stayed by his side as he tortured and killed Palpatine's men, even though she'd expressed her displeasure for it. She'd stopped him from killing his father and totally stepping over the edge into the Dark Side. And, here she was, sitting on his lap, looking at him with a mixture of worry, and hope for a better future for them both. No. She wasn't going anywhere.

"You said I have the power to make my own choices." He said softly.

"I did." Mara agreed, frowning a little. She wasn't sure where this was going.

"I still have to kill Palpatine. Even if I hadn't sworn to avenge Talia, I've made him a rather great enemy." It was true. There was no getting around the enemy he'd created in Palpatine. Somehow, it didn't bother him as much as it should have. "But, I also need to move on from the past. I'm not….I'm not ready to let it go just yet, but…I will. And, I when I do," he paused, looking down at her lips. Without really thinking about it, he kissed her again, softer, sweeter this time. "It'll be just you and me. No more killing. No more running. Just us." He said against her lips.

He felt Mara relax in his arms, and she pulled away slightly. "I think that's a very good start." She said softly. She reached up and brushed a lock of his blonde hair away from his forehead. "So. How do we bring that bastard down?"

Luke frowned, thinking back to the information he'd received from his last mission. It felt like so long ago when he'd been in Rio. "I have to find Asajj Ventress. I have no idea where she is, though."

"Do you have a starting point?" Mara asked. Though she still sat on his lap, her face just inches from his, she was serious now, focused.

Luke strained to think about it. "Well, I might, but it's extremely risky."

"Risky's good." A grin spread over Mara's face. "So, the usual."

"Oh, no-o-o," Luke tsked with a shake of his head. "This is triple the danger. We would be infiltrating the main Inquisitor base."

Mara froze, eyes wide at that. "Oh." She said.

"Yeah. I told you, it's risky, but if I can hack into the main terminal, I should be able to find her last known location." Luke said, but even as he said it, he couldn't believe they were words coming out of his mouth. Sure, he knew the base better than anyone else who wasn't an Inquisitor, but it was still basically a suicide mission. He didn't see any other way though, and he'd had plenty of time to think about it.

"You know, given how hard he is to find, one might think that Palpatine is a bit paranoid." Mara said, and he noticed that now her gaze was straying down to his lips… "Can I ask you something else?" she suddenly asked, flicking her gaze back to his.

That was not the direction he thought she was going in. "Sure." He said.

Slowly, tentatively, she reached up, lightly touching the side of his neck where the silver chain of his mother's necklace just barely stuck out. "I've seen this chain sticking out every day, and yet I've never seen the necklace itself. You aren't exactly the jewelry-type, you know. Can…can I see it?"

Luke hesitated, not because he didn't want her to see it, but because he simply had never shown it to anyone. He'd always been afraid that if he were caught wearing it as an Inquisitor, it would be taken away from him. So, he'd always kept it carefully hidden. He hadn't even shown Talia. But, there was no longer any reason to hide it, and he'd already let Mara through his barriers. Might as well let her into all of them. He reached up and pulled it out. Gingerly, she took the little pendant in her hand, her fingers running over the etching. "It was my mother's. I keep it close to my heart all the time." Luke told her quietly as she examined it, "I…grabbed it from off her neck when she died. Not on purpose. I…actually don't remember how exactly I got it, but she always wore it. I think it was a gift from my father."

"It's intriguing," Mara muttered, her eyebrows furrowing. "What's it made of?"

"Actually, I have no idea." Luke shrugged. "It's not a common material, that's for sure. My father travels a lot, so I kind of assumed he must have picked it up somewhere on one of his Jedi adventures."

Mara held it for a second more before she let it drop back to his chest. "And you never take it off."

He met her gaze. "Not for a moment." He admitted with a slight shake of his head.

Something flashed in Mara's eyes, but it was gone before he could identify what it was. "I'm with you to the end, Skywalker." Mara suddenly said, bringing him back to their previous discussion. "Regardless of what…what this is," She motioned to their current position with her still sitting in his lap, "You can count on me. We'll figure out how to get into that base, and get out with the info we need and our lives intact."

His heart warmed, and though he was still reeling from what had happened with his father, with what he wanted to do, he no longer felt so alone. Though the road ahead of them was still dangerous, he had a feeling that as long as he wasn't alone, as long as he had Mara with him, he could accomplish almost anything. He smiled, and Mara smiled back, and he kissed her softly once more before they began to detail out the next steps of their plan.


It was raining in London when they landed. Typical. The moment the loading ramp had been lowered on her father's ship, Leia rushed out into the rain-washed air. Her mother and Hayden were waiting at the bottom, and when he saw her, Hayden broke out into a grin. "Leia!" He cried excitedly, and ran to her, throwing his arms around her waist. Normally, Leia was always happy to see Hayden, as they'd developed a close relationship over the years, but her father's revelations were still whirling in her head, cascading her into a confusing oblivion. She sensed him appear at the top of the landing ramp behind her, his gaze on her back both anxious and apprehensive. She tensed, blocking him firmly from reading her emotions through their Force connection. It wasn't an easy task, given that he was not only her dad, but also her Jedi Master, and their bond had strengthened over the years, but he didn't press the issue. He knew she needed time and space.

"Hi Hayden," Leia's voice was tight. Her mother, who had begun to approach, immediately noticed her tone, and her brown eyes, so much like Leia's own, narrowed in suspicion before flicking up to her husband's troubled gaze behind her. Hayden still hadn't let go of her. He looked up at her, his dark curls falling away from his face, his blue eyes so like their father's and Luke's growing sad. He frowned, also sensing Leia's closed-mood in the Force. Normally, she was open with him, and though Hayden wasn't like Luke, who could read her like an open book, Hayden, being a Skywalker, was still strong in the Force and took his own Jedi skills training seriously, and over the years, he had grown accustomed to at least getting something from his sister. "What's wrong?" Her father hadn't moved from the top of the ramp, and her mom was now looking between the two of them with a very serious frown on her face. For a moment, Leia felt a flash of anger at her mom—how could neither of her parents tell her of her heritage all these years? Of this whole other life they had all lived? How could neither of them tell her what her father had done to destroy their family?

"I need to take a walk." Her voice was almost monotone. She wanted to yell, she wanted to make accusations, but it was her Jedi training that stopped her from doing so. She was too clouded to make a judgement. She needed to clear her head, to meditate somewhere away from her apparently dysfunctional family. Hayden seemed to sense this, and slowly he dropped his arms, stepping back from her.

"Leia," Padme began, stepping forward, but Leia side-stepped her mother, shaking her head. Her mom stopped, and Leia flinched as she watched hurt and worry fill her mother's eyes.

"I'll be fine, Mom." Leia rushed to assure her, not because she wanted to, but because she knew that her mom was already stressed and worried about Luke. She almost blurted out how Luke almost murdered her husband, but she forced herself to clamp her jaw shut. She'd let her father break that news. Leia was not in the right mind to be dropping any info bombs on anyone, because those bombs would explode in an inferno...of her own making…and there was a part of her that didn't want any of that to happen. Her family had already been through enough. She didn't need to make it worse.

"I'll be back."

She didn't wait for a response. She skirted around her mom, leaving the hotel premises. As she did so, she spotted Obi-Wan and Ashoka leaving the hotel, headed for her family. She picked up her speed as the urge to stop and yell at them too for keeping that info from her overcame her.

Walking at a rapid clip, she was soon far away from their hotel, losing herself in the vast sprawl of London's streets. It was quieter here than it was in the United States. They weren't in downtown London, so many of the streets she passed were residential. It wasn't a rough neighborhood either: There were some very haute couture shops with Prada, Dior, and Armani products, to name just a few, prominently sitting in the window displays. Still, as she passed the few people who had decided to brave the rain to travel to their various destinations, she found comfort in her lightsaber gently thumping against the side of her thigh. She reached out with the Force, but she didn't think any of those Inquisitors were near here, but given that this…Han Solo character, and therefore Luke, supposedly lived somewhere nearby in the greater London area, she supposed the Inquisitors couldn't be that far behind either.

She didn't know how long she wandered around before she felt the Force tug at her. Her father had pressed upon her the need to follow promptings from the Force so often, that she followed the tug almost without realizing it. She turned a corner, walked underneath a stone arch, and found herself in a quiet, secluded graveyard. Overhead, she was mostly protected by the foliage of the ancient rickety trees that grew and shaded the graveyard. She saw a wall of a little cathedral at the far end of the yard. Looking around, she was completely alone.

Strangely, it didn't feel creepy to her. It felt peaceful, serene somehow, and secluded from the outside world. It felt like nothing dangerous could ever touch her here. She knew that was silly, but…as she wandered quietly among the timeworn gravestones with multiple names chiseled into the stone, some faded beyond recognition, many covered by overgrowths of moss, she felt, for the first time since her brother lashed out at their father, at peace. She stopped at an old stone bench. She was already drenched at this point from the heavy misting rain, so when she sat down on the gathered small puddles on the bench, she didn't mind it in the least. It was wide enough to sit cross-legged on, so she did, moving herself into a meditation position. She hadn't ever meditated in such a public place before, and yet…she was alone, and this felt right. She was certainly more at peace than she had been. What's more, she felt that the Force was pushing within her to meditate. Here.

So she did.

She slipped into the peaceful trance quicker than she thought she would. The pitter patter sound of drops of rain hitting the leaves disappeared, as well as the feeling of being drenched to the bone. She felt weightless, timeless, floating in a calm, peaceful nothingness, allowing the Force to wrap her up in it's embrace, calming her confusion and revulsion at what her brother had done and what her father had said. Letting all of that go into the Force, she completely relaxed, and...

Soon, images began to come.

First came images of her childhood. She remembered how kind and loving her dad had been to her. The hours upon hours he'd played with her and her dolls in her room or blowing bubbles for her and Jedi to chase after out in the backyard. The hundreds of times he sat there on the couch with her, sharing popcorn and hot chocolate, as she made him watch, yet again, the movie Frozen. She knew now that her father hated that movie, but he'd never let her feel that when she watched it with him. She remembered their trips to Disneyland, and how he'd carry her on his shoulders if she got too tired from walking. She remembered all the sandcastles he'd built with her at the beach not far from their house in California...even though he detested sand. She remembered his patience whenever she was so wrapped up in what she wanted, that she refused to believe that it wasn't the right thing to do. She remembered him telling her and Luke stories each night before bed, of giving her goodnight kisses each night until she insisted that she was too old for that. And still, sometimes, when he thought she didn't notice, he would wait until he thought she was asleep to check on her, and would tuck her in further and kiss her forehead anyway, whispering that she was still his little princess.

She remembered how he held her in the hospital while waiting for her mom to be okay that awful night. She remembered that night in his workshop, when he was sure that he'd lost Luke. The workshop had been destroyed, and he'd been on the floor, crying. She hadn't been afraid of him—in fact, in her deep moment of sorrow, she saw that and had felt connected to her father. He'd held her that night, too, and she'd clung to him. He had been her lifeline in those early days, when she was still reeling from the pain of losing her brother and best friend. She remembered all their trips to Idaho to visit Grandma and Grandpa Lars and how her father had taught her how to ride a four-wheeler and a horse. How they'd taken family vacations to Colorado in the winters, and her father had taught her how to snowboard, ski, and ride a snowmobile.

She remembered training with her father. Oh, they'd had arguments alright—they were both too headstrong not to. However, he had also been patient with her, and she'd had the feeling that training her when he wasn't at work or searching for Luke had been something her father had welcomed wholeheartedly, not only as a chance to train his daughter to do something that he himself embraced fully, but it was also a welcome distraction from the worry and the loss they shared in. If she was honest with herself, she felt the same way. He'd been there for every school award ceremony, every parent-teacher conference, every soccer game and every tennis match she'd played in at school. He'd attended every Model UN competition, even though he hated politics. He'd hemmed and hawed about it but had sat blushingly through her mom explaining 'the birds and the bees' to her when she had to take a class about it in middle school. He'd gone shopping with her and her mom for her first homecoming dress—had even teared up a little when he saw her in it (not that he would admit that). He'd taught her how to drive a car, and how to pilot a speeder. And, after her mom had had a 'talk' with him, he'd allowed her to start dating and then he'd waited up to make sure she got home safe (and on time) from every date he'd let her go on...after he'd practically interrogated (and frightened) the boys brave enough to ask her out. He'd thought about her well-being first whenever they'd gone on missions to find Luke.

But finding Luke again changed everything. It changed the way Leia viewed the world—how she viewed her family. It had revealed not only her deepest fears for her brother, but something terrible from a past that she had lived through but she no longer remembered. She tried to picture the man who had lovingly raised her as being the same evil man who her father had described on the ship. Her father was a good man. Certainly not pure or innocent—that night in his workshop had shown her that. But, he was a good man. So how…?

Show me. She thought suddenly, and the Force responded with hesitation, as if it were worried what the knowledge of her former life would do to her. That irritated her. She didn't like to be protected. She hated it when her father became overprotective, or her mother either, for that matter. She didn't want protection from the Force, not on this matter. She needed to know. She needed to decide how to proceed. Show me. She demanded the Force again, and it seemed to sense her determination. Soon, images of the past she knew faded away, replaced by images of a past long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

It was happy at first. She saw herself raised as a princess by the man she knew in this world as her childhood doctor, Doctor Bail Organa, on a planet called Alderaan. She had been just as headstrong then as now, and though she was taught the ways of a noble princess, she had never had the desire to be that person. She aspired to be more than that, and had looked to her political adoptive father as her hero. Still, she had lived a childhood full of happiness and love, with dreams and aspirations that only a child could dream up.

Then, she was a Senator for Alderaan. She took to the position naturally, even though she was younger than she was now when she started. She had no qualms about speaking up for what she believed to be right, even though the Senate at that time was little more than a puppet show for the Galaxy, controlled by the Emperor. Despite her boldness, she remained careful to conceal all of her other clandestine activities with the growing Rebellion. It was a dangerous charade that she had mastered for years before she was caught.

She remembered the first time she met Darth Vader, the man she now knew to be her loving birth father. In her memories, she had met him while meeting the Emperor for the first time. Though she could sense the pit of darkness that was the Emperor, it had been Vader that had drawn most of her attention—and her fear. At the time, all she could sense from him was this twisted darkness, a pure hatred that consumed everything he did. She couldn't have gotten out of that room faster. But now, beneath all that anger and hatred, Leia could sense her father, or what was left of him. Behind all of that anger was a man who was lost, who wallowed in misery and pain for a lost love, a lost family, a personal Hell reserved just for him.

She remembered being captured by him while attempting to bring the stolen Death Star plans to Alderaan for the Rebellion. She remembered placing those plans inside Artoo before she was captured. She remembered her angry exchange with Vader before being taken aboard the Death Star, how he'd tortured her there until she screamed, until she begged him to stop...but she hadn't broken and revealed the secret base location of the rebels. She remembered as he held her back and forced her to watch as her planet Alderaan, as her only known-family, was destroyed in a single laser blast. He hadn't cared one bit at the time—he hadn't known that the girl he tortured was his own flesh and blood.

But Luke had rescued her, Luke and Han and Chewie, and they had continued to team up throughout the Rebellion on countless missions. Han…the young man she'd just met at the base, the one Luke was friends with, the one who had been angry with Luke for lashing out like that at their father. She remembered him now. Force, he'd gotten on her nerves!…and yet, she'd fallen for him. Hard. Yes, he was a scoundrel, but he had also been unexpectedly kind and loyal to those he called friends. As much as she'd tried to keep from falling for him, to keep him at arm's length, she just fell deeper and deeper…Especially after they'd fled from the Imperial attack on the rebel base on Hoth. Kiss a wookie, indeed! She smirked. He never did arrange that, taking the job on himself...very pleasantly so.

Suddenly, Vader was hunting them relentlessly across the galaxy. She didn't know why—at first, she assumed it was because she was a Rebellion leader, but by the time they'd reached Bespin and Lando Calrissian, she knew it had to be more than that. They'd been betrayed there by Lando, and Vader had tortured Han (for no apparent reason) before forcing her to watch, as yet again he attempted to take away everything that she loved by freezing Han in carbonite, and then by trying to do the same to Luke. But Luke escaped, and she'd heard him call for her through the Force, leading her right to him, dangling precariously off the underbelly of Bespin. His right hand had been cut off, and Luke had been in horrible shock, a state he'd remained in for weeks after the event.

But, they stuck it out together. They found and rescued Han. Luke became a Jedi, and before he'd faced Vader in the final battle of the war, he had told her the truth of their heritage. She'd been immensely happy to have Luke as her brother, but equally horrified to learn that her father was Vader, her most hated enemy. Just as she learned that, her brother left, and had faced Emperor Palpatine and Vader on the second Death Star.

Luke always told the story, to her at least, that their father had ultimately chosen the Light. He had chosen to turn from the Dark Side and save Luke. Her father had been the one to kill Palpatine, completing his destiny as The Chosen One of the Force. He'd become Anakin Skywalker again, and had sacrificed himself to save his son from the Emperor's clutches. Luke had always spoken about the incident with an almost reverent tone and had been at peace with what had happened between him and their father.

But, Leia could never say the same for herself. She craved answers, to have the chance at the same closure her brother had been granted. Sometimes, she had been envious of Luke for it, but never overtly resentful. Still, she never considered Vader to be her father, and she didn't quite…see Anakin Skywalker in Vader like Luke had. She'd longed for just one hour with the man, just to demand to know why. Why had he become a monster? Why had he hurt her? Had he ever even wanted her as his daughter?

But she'd never gotten the chance, and no Force Ghost ever showed up to provide what she longed for, though Luke swore he had seen their father's Force Ghost, along with that of both Obi-Wan and Yoda right after his return from the Second Death Star.

But, she'd lived a relatively happy life. She married Han. She became a Senator again in the newly restructured Galactic Senate when the Republic was reinstated. She settled down. She had a son, Ben. Ben joined Luke's growing Jedi Order, and he became Luke's apprentice while Luke's son, Anakin (named after their father) was with his mother, Mara Jade. Things were going right. She spent so many years away from war, that she had begun to believe that things would end up alright. Never perfect, of course. There had been tragedies. But it would be alright.

Then it was revealed to the entire galaxy that she was the daughter of Darth Vader. Her son found out, and the evil Snoke used Ben's confusion and his resentment of not being told by his parents about Vader's relationship to them to turn him into Kylo Ren. Once again, the Jedi Order was destroyed. Mara was killed. Luke and Anakin and many of the other surviving Jedi went into hiding.

The galaxy was plunged into Civil War yet again...with her son on the side of evil.

The fallout destroyed her marriage to Han. It had destroyed Han himself. She threw herself into what she'd been good at—leading a Resistance. Even then, she convinced herself that it would be okay. She and Han would somehow work it out. She'd get her son back. Snoke would be defeated, just like Palpatine had been. She'd find her brother and nephew again, and the other Jedi, and they'd…

But, it wasn't that way.

At least…she didn't remember the end of her previous life's story. The last thing the Force would show her was the moment in the control room as she monitored the progress of the attack on Star Killer Base, when she felt her husband violently plunge out of the land of the living and into the living Force, lost to her forever. No, Leia pleaded, desperate to know what happened after that. No! Show me more! That can't be it! Han…Han can't be dead! Ben needs to come home! Luke needs to come home! Please, don't let that be the end!

But, the Force was firm this time. The answer was no. It refused to show her more.

Suddenly, the sound of church bells striking the hour ripped her from her trance. She was still sitting in the graveyard, still drenched as a heavier rain continued to pour from the sky. She was still alone. All at once, the peaceful feeling, the serenity was gone, followed by sadness and despair. Now she knew. Her previous life had been so full of sadness. She had lost so much… Oh how foolish to think she could ever have a happy ending!

And yet…she looked around, forcing herself to think back to the present. That was the past. She was still alive…she had been reborn. Her parents, her real parents, were happily together. Her father….not Vader, the Anakin Skywalker Luke had always spoken about with such reverence, the Anakin Skywalker of today was here, really here, and he'd done nothing but love her and take care of her since the moment she'd been reborn into this world. He wasn't full of darkness. He was full to overflowing with the brightest shining Light, and he'd only encouraged others to follow the path of the Light in this world. Now, he was trying to make sure that the ending their whole family got this time was a good one, even though it had nearly cost him his life.

Luke was still lost, in more ways than one, but she knew she could find him. She knew, really knew, that he was a good man, not only because she'd felt his goodness as they were children in this world, but because she'd seen his goodness in their old life.

And Han…Force be praised, she'd seen him again! They'd fought side by side, had spoken words to one another, and aside from the feeling that he contained something important she had been missing, she hadn't even realized what it was he meant to her! In her memories, he had been killed, but in this life, he was alive. They could start over...Well, that is if they could convince her father to accept it, they could. This time, she could make sure things were different between them.

Her mind clear, her course set for now, she stood abruptly as the last peals of the church bells faded away, and she began to run. Back out of the cemetery. Back through the streets. Back to the hotel. Though there was still much that she needed to decide, she knew one very important thing: Her story had not ended. It had only begun.

She planned on making sure it had a very happy ending, for everyone she cared about.


"We knew this would have to happen someday, Ani." Padme consoled her distraught husband. His voice was still raw from the…the choking their son had given him. Force, she couldn't even imagine it—though she should have been able to, given that her husband had once lashed out and choked her in their old life just exactly like that, but Luke doing that to Anakin? She couldn't imagine it.

The idea was surreal.

Anakin had prefaced this tale by dropping to his knees before her, wrapping her in a strong hug, and looking into her eyes, tears in his own, and begging once again for her forgiveness. As Anakin had told her the story, though, all she could think about was the last time she'd seen her little boy happy. He'd been tucked into bed, asking about Hayden. He was so sweet and understanding, even if he hadn't exactly liked all of the answers Padme had given him. She remembered how she'd kissed his forehead, how he told her he loved her…

How could such a sweet little boy be so lost?

"Maybe we should have told them those stories weren't just stories the first time I told it to them when they were little." Anakin said dejectedly, his voice full of misery. "Then when Luke started remembering, he'd know the truth. He'd at least have had some context."

"They wouldn't have really understood at that age anyway, Ani. They were three when you told them those stories. It would have frightened them to know it was real. It might have caused an unhealable rift between them and us." That's what she told herself, anyway. And, it made sense. What mother wanted to tell her little children about the horrific things their father did to an entire galaxy in another life? She had wanted them to be innocent and happy for as long as they could be in this life, and now…

Still...Perhaps Anakin was right. Perhaps they should have been told the truth long ago. Now Luke hated his father for what he didn't fully understand, and their family was still incomplete.

Anakin put his face in his trembling hands, and though she was not Force Sensitive, his wife could feel his pain. It mirrored her own. She wrapped her arms around him, stroking his hair and his back, pressing kisses to his jaw, providing what comfort and support she could while she too, couldn't help but feel that same, aching pain. She just wanted Luke home. Anakin said Luke seemed really touchy about her, likely because he felt guilty at having accidentally shot her. "We're going to lose them all, aren't we?" Anakin asked miserably, his voice muffled by his hands.

"No." Padme said firmly, keeping the doubt out of her voice. "Leia is a smart girl. She just needs time to process. You've been nothing but a good father to her in this life, Ani. You are a changed man. She will see that, just give her time. Hayden didn't have a chance to exist in our old galaxy. So, he will never have any memories like that to come between us," She hesitated. "As for Luke…I think I need to try talking to him."

Anakin immediately tensed in her arms, but after a moment where she worried he would get overprotective and say no, he relaxed. "You're right." He said softly, "Maybe I'm the wrong person to be trying to get him to listen." He sounded pained to admit it, but they both knew he was right.

"So, in the morning…" Padme began, but a knock on their door interrupted them. The door to their private hotel bedroom opened, and Obi-Wan poked his head through. "Sorry," He said, "But, I have important news."

Anakin was immediately standing, pulling out of her arms, his hand going to his lightsaber. "Is it Leia?" He asked, his voice serious. "Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. She literally just got back. But, that's not what I'm here for." He raised his hand, holding up Anakin's cell phone. "Your secretary just transferred a call from NASA to your cell. You have an urgent call…" He hesitated and his next words caused Anakin to step back in shock.

"From Mara Jade."


So...stories revealed! Leia knows most of her past (except past the major event in Force Awakens...as I said, I won't really touch ep 7-9 until ep 9 is done on any story of mine and that is final). Luke and Mara are together as...something. They haven't had the DTR yet, so I wouldn't fully say "dating" yet. Mara Jade has now contacted Anakin Skywalker-but why?

Find out next time!

The songs for this chapter are: Falling Slowly from Once; Demons originally by Imagine Dragons but this version is a really good cover by Boyce Avenue. Monster by Imagine Dragons, and Who We Are by Tristan Prettyman.

Review!

Love,

Sarah