Ok. This was it.
Anakin looked once again at the time on the wall clock and fidgeted over a cup of steaming hot coffee, turning the cup round and round on the tabletop. He didn't plan on actually drinking any of it, so he'd just ordered it black. He'd never really been much of a regular coffee drinker anyway; though, his wife had managed to get him hooked on cappuccino over the years. Padme, meanwhile, was much more at ease over her own cup of java; although, he knew her well enough to know that she was just as tense over this upcoming meeting as he was. She just didn't show it. Lawyers, he thought.
Technically, Mara had said, in her very brief and cryptic phone conversation, to meet her alone. Given that he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her (with or without the Force), he wasn't keen on following that particular request. Besides, Padme didn't even have weapons on her anyway.
No. It was Leia and Obi-Wan that Mara would have to worry about if she decided to attack him. Leia was sitting on her father's other side, also slowly drinking from her coffee, the perfect picture of calmness, just like her mother, as they all waited for Mara to show up. Anakin didn't even need to look to know that Leia had her lightsaber strapped to her belt. Obi-Wan, who was still taking his own sweet time ordering up at the counter, also had his lightsaber. Still, even against three Jedi, Anakin suspected that Mara had plenty of tricks up her sleeve to escape.
Besides this arranged meetup with Mara, Anakin was also concerned about his daughter. Leia hadn't said much about what happened yesterday other than that she wanted to talk to him in private when they had the chance. Since Mara's phone call last night though, the group had been busy preparing for this meeting, and they hadn't had a chance to really be alone to talk. The thought of that conversation made Anakin's stomach twist in nervous knots, and he wished he could just pull her aside and ignore everything else going on to talk to her. But, Leia was in her 'focused' mode. She gets that from her mother, he thought on a sigh. Honestly, it was so much like Padme's, Anakin didn't even bother suggesting it. He already knew what the answer would be. At least they had convinced Ahsoka to take Hayden home—their youngest son had missed enough school as it was (which he was highly upset about—he apparently had complained to Padme every single day while in Germany that he wanted to go back home and go to school…strange, lovable kid). With how Luke had reacted to Anakin and Leia, they didn't want to risk Hayden getting hurt. So, they had hugged him goodbye this morning before he left with Ahsoka on their private ship, and if he was concerned that he was going home with Ahsoka and without his parents, he certainly didn't show it.
He was certainly Padme's son. Well, mostly. He was a Skywalker, after all.
"Two more minutes and she should get here," Padme said when Anakin continued to fidget.
"Stop fidgeting, Ani. Do…I don't know. Calming exercises or something."
"I've done that like five times already, Angel. This is me being calm right now." He said back, twisting in his seat again, his eyes darting around the room, causing Leia to shift awkwardly next to him.
"Soooo," Leia started, setting her cup down and nervously tapping her fingers on the rim, getting both of her parents' attention. Anakin had a sinking feeling this didn't bode well. "This is sort of what I was going to talk to you about later, but I, uh, think I should go ahead and warn you now so you aren't, you know, totally blindsided here." She bit her lip and kept her gaze focused on her coffee, not looking at either of her parents. Anakin and Padme glanced at one another in silent communication and obvious concern.
Uh oh. No parent wants to hear those words spoken.
"Yes, Leia? Go on," Padme said, quirking an eyebrow. Leia suddenly looked…embarrassed? And, she wouldn't meet either of their eyes.
Anakin's sinking feeling sunk lower. This. Is. Not. Good.
"Well…you see...when I went out yesterday on my walk, long story short, I came across this old quiet graveyard, and I went in there and sat down on a bench in the rain, and I meditated for quite a long time actually, and...welllll, I remembered…well not all of my previous life, but certainly a good chunk of it, and uh, I just wanted to tell you that...it would be best if...well, let's just say that I highly suggest that you be nice to Mara since, oh, she just happens to be your...y'know, daughter-in-law." Leia quietly sipped at her coffee and flicked a sideways glance at her parents, gauging their reaction.
Whaaaaaaaat?!
If their daughter had just set off a bomb, Anakin didn't think they could've been more stunned. Both he and Padme stared at her, identical looks of shock on their faces, their mouths hanging wide open. At that moment, Obi-Wan showed up with his coffee. "Sorry that took so long," He was saying cheerfully, and then paused, noticing the very tense, awkward silence at the table, the waves of distress he felt coming off all the Skywalkers into the Force, and the shattered looks on Anakin and Padme's faces. "Um...You know...I think I'll go back and order a pastry, too." He turned around and beat a hasty retreat, walking right back to the counter to get in line again, having decided that he did not want to get in the middle of whatever he had just inadvertently walked into. Nope. Not touching that with a ten foot gaffi staff.
Anakin stared at his daughter, who looked at her coffee mug sheepishly. "I was going to wait," she began to say, and Anakin realized she was actually babbling—babbling! Since when did Leia….? And, how did she remember…? And, why in the hell did Luke think it was a good idea to marry Mara freaking Jade?! Question after shellshocked question tumbled over and over in his mind at this...revelation. Anakin silently swore in Huttese. Leia remembered their old galaxy...and Mara Jade was their daughter-in-law?!
Damn and blast! Luke, what in Force's sake were you thinking, Son?!
"But, then I thought it might get brought up, and I didn't want you to, I don't know, freak out maybe and scare her off. I mean, she's actually a very nice person...well, once you get past the sarcastic persona and all. And, she and Luke…"
It was Padme, not Anakin, who held up a hand. "Leia Skywalker," Padme's voice was barely controlled. She was freaking out, too, and clearly, like her husband, she dearly wished their daughter had decided to tell them all of this...enlightening...and very important information long before they'd left to come to this busy coffee shop, "We will discuss all of this when we are not in public, young lady." Leia gulped. Her mother meant business, and she knew it.
"Sorry, bad timing, I know," Leia said sheepishly, glancing at Anakin. "Um. Are you…okay, Dad?"
He must have been turning a different color or something. Green maybe, to match the nausea he suddenly felt roiling in his belly. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to try to respond, but that was the moment Mara Jade decided to make her grand entrance. Anakin knew that Mara knew exactly who was in that coffee shop, or at least, who all was there who would be a potential threat at any rate.
Still, she seemed calm, cool, and collected, as she made her way over to their booth, sliding into the seat across from them and launching into her spiel without preamble. "Oh hi, Skywalker, so glad you decided to join me...alone. Like I asked." She arched her eyebrow and turned her head to give Leia a pointed look, though it wasn't overtly hostile.
Still, when Anakin looked at her, he felt the nausea in the pit of his stomach again, and he thought once more, Why, Luke? Why did it have to be Mara Jade?! And, before he could stop himself, he blurted out in despair, "Why?"
From beside him, Padme sighed and rolled her eyes. The corners of Leia's mouth twitched, and it was obvious that she was trying not to laugh. Mara's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but other than that, she didn't seem that put off. "Nice manners, Skywalker. What a way to greet someone," Mara said dryly, waving her hand absently around the room, "Bring two extra armed Jedi and begin by asking cryptic questions. You certainly know how to make a woman feel important." The look she shot him was pointed.
As Anakin forced himself to take three, deep, calming breaths, Leia quietly said, "We don't mean you any harm, Mara. I'm not sure how much Luke has told you, but I'm…"
"His twin sister, Leia." Mara interrupted smoothly. "Oh yes, I know who you are. Your father here," she flicked her fingers casually toward Anakin, "wouldn't stop worrying about you when we were fighting for our lives, and Luke has mentioned you once or twice. Nice to formally meet you, even if you do have a lightsaber strapped to your belt."
"Could we not talk about that stuff so openly in public, please?" Anakin finally managed to say, his voice strained from the effort of keeping himself under control.
Mara gave him a feral, challenging grin. "Ahh, come on, Skywalker. It's not like anyone else here knows what we're talking about. Besides, this is London. Weirder things have happened in London, y'know."
Anakin wouldn't know anything about that, as he and Padme had only been to London a handful of times over the years since their honeymoon, so he decided not to comment on it. "Could we just skip to the point and get to why you called and asked to meet us here?"
Mara tsked, waving a single finger in the air. "Ah, ah. You still haven't introduced me to your other two friends here. One is a Jedi," She nodded over to where Obi-Wan was now paying for pastries, "And the other is a normal human." She gave Padme an appraising look, her eyebrows arched questioningly.
It was Padme who jumped in this time. "Over there at the counter is our friend, Obi-Wan. He may be a Jedi, but I assure you, he's not here to fight."
"Riiiight, the other Jedi-Grand Master wouldn't hurt a fly." Mara said in a sarcastic tone that suggested she didn't believe a word she'd said. "But, that still leaves you. Who exactly are you to have such high friends within the very exclusive Jedi Order, hmm?"
Anakin felt himself flush with anger at her impertinent tone and opened his mouth to very angrily tell her to show some respect to his wife, but underneath the table, Padme suddenly gripped his knee tightly in warning, a silent order to keep quiet and let her handle this. He bit down on his lip to keep himself from doing anything brash—as much as he didn't like Mara, and he was still freaking out that first, his daughter apparently knew about her past...well, their past lives, and second, Luke had actually married Mara Jade —he knew he couldn't mess this meeting up. Mara was clearly very involved with Luke (he refused to think about how much she was involved...after all, Luke was still a teenager), and it would be beyond stupid to scare her off, because he was currently freaking out. Refocusing his attention to their discussion, he listened as his wife addressed Mara.
"My name is Padme Skywalker. I'm Anakin's wife, and Luke and Leia's mother." Padme introduced herself kindly, smiling at the younger woman, and yet the moment the words left her mouth, Mara's sarcasm was gone, obliterated, only to be replaced by stone-cold shock. The girl went pale, her emerald green eyes almost bulging from their sockets, straightening up in her seat as if Padme had told her someone close to her had just died. Concerned at her reaction, Padme frowned. "Are you alright, Mara?"
Mara leaned back into the seat cushion, staring at Padme as if she were a ghost. "That's impossible," she stuttered on a whisper, "You're supposed to be dead."
Whaaaaaaaaat?!
"Hey, I got some extra scones if anyone wants any." Obi-Wan said, suddenly appearing and placing a bag full of delicious smelling pastries in the center of the table. "I….oh." He sighed once again as yet another wave of shock and anguish was emanating from their table into the Force, and a look passed over his face as if he were debating on going back to the line to get something else.
Just. Sit. Down. Anakin sent through their Force connection without looking at him.
Obi-Wan complied, sitting down next to Mara very uncomfortably. If Mara was bothered that she was essentially boxed into a booth by the other Jedi Grand Master, she didn't show it. Didn't even register it really. She still stared at Padme as if she had grown two heads.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Anakin managed to ask, barely keeping his voice even.
"It means," Mara said carefully, quietly, not tearing her eyes from Padme. "That I have way more questions now than I came here with."
Anakin opened his mouth to demand some straight answers, but he felt Padme squeeze his knee again in warning. "Obviously, Mara, there are some serious miscommunication problems here. Why don't I explain what really happened all those years ago, and then you tell us what you think happened?" Padme smiled kindly at Mara again, willing her to agree to the plan.
Slowly, Mara nodded. "Yeah….let's do that."
So, Padme launched into the story. She briefly mentioned that their family had been at war with Palpatine since well before the twins were born. She briefly mentioned, with some tightness in her voice, why they'd made the move to Texas to start up a more secure living environment for their family and for the Jedi Order. She talked about how Grievous and Ventress had led the Jedi into a trap, drawing adequate protection away from Anakin's family on that fateful night. Though she had rarely spoken of this incident to anyone else but Anakin, she now spoke of it openly in a strong, firm voice, the voice of a politician, of a lawyer. Anakin couldn't help but lean into her a bit, rubbing their shoulders together—he had always found her even more alluring and attractive when she showed power and strength, even when he knew she felt anything but that.
Padme told the events of that night as if she were stating facts in a court case. As if it wasn't her that Ventress tortured, as if it was someone else's son who had tried to protect her and ended up shooting her instead. As if it were someone else's son who had been abducted so violently from their home, to be taken to a monster who wanted nothing more than to use and corrupt his innocence and power in the Force.
By the end of it, when Padme finished speaking and they all turned their eyes to the red-haired young woman, Mara was shaking her head, stunned nearly to speechlessness. "But...but that's just it—so much of that is so similar to what Luke said happened, but there are slight and yet very significant differences in his version of it."
"What did he say happened?" Padme asked calmly, as if she were asking a traumatized stranger for their testimony in a major case.
"Well, first of all...He said that it was a man who attacked you, not Ventress." Wait, what? "Second, he said after he shot you, the man fled your house, and he actually saw you die." Mara paused, looking at Anakin for a moment, as if debating whether to go on.
Padme glanced at Anakin in alarm. "Maybe he just thought I had died?" Padme suggested, "He was so young, and I did lose consciousness. With so much blood, it could have been a mistake…"
"No," Mara insisted, firmly shaking her head. "He's positive that you're dead. What's more, he said he wasn't abducted, but rather he ran away."
With every word spoken, Anakin was getting more and more upset. Even Obi-Wan seemed deeply troubled by her words, and spoke up to try and clarify some things. "Listen Mara, Luke wouldn't have run away from home. He never would have left Padme like that, even if he was scared out of his mind. Luke was not that sort of child…"
Listening to Obi-Wan, something suddenly flashed in Mara's eyes—anger? Confusion? She looked over at Anakin and said, perhaps, the most flabbergasting thing of all. "No. Luke ran away because you tried to kill him." She said it as if he should remember that, but it was also said with uncertainty.
Anakin was frozen in shock. Padme was just as tense and frozen. Obi-Wan looked floored. Leia just looked pissed.
"Excuse me?!" Leia asked, her voice low and dangerous. "My father wasn't even there that night. I was there, I could feel everything that happened in the Force…"
"Leia is correct. Anakin was with me that night in Corpus Christi, leading the attack on Grievous. There's no way he could have done that." Obi-Wan said, his voice grave. "Furthermore, Anakin would not harm Luke, even if Padme had died from that gunshot. If you'd ever seen Anakin with little Luke, you'd know that. He adored his son...and still does."
"Well, obviously, I didn't," Mara said dryly, but still looking shaken, "And, Luke is under the impression that he wasn't really close to any of you except his mom, so…." She trailed off as
Leia bit out a very bitter, disbelieving laugh. Padme frowned and pulled out her phone and from the corner of Anakin's still shocked gaze, he saw her pulling up the picture app and rapidly start swiping through pictures.
"That is the most insane thing I have ever heard. He's my twin brother, I'm literally closer to him than most people in the whole universe…" Leia was saying, and suddenly Padme found what she wanted and pushed her phone across the table to Mara.
"Look, Mara. Does that look like an unhappy boy to you? Does that look like a father who doesn't love his son?" Padme's voice now shook with fury and confusion. "Tell me, Mara Jade. What does Luke look like to you in those pictures, in those videos? Tell me honestly what you see."
Hesitantly, Mara picked the phone up, taking several long minutes to watch old videos from the twins' infancy and childhood and swiping between the pictures Padme always carried with her. Anakin knew what they would be. He carried the same pictures and videos on his phone, too. Pictures of them as a family. Pictures of each of them holding just Luke or just Leia. Pictures of the Lars' and the Amidala's with the twins. Pictures of him and Luke playing in the yard, tinkering in the garage or his workshop together. Pictures of Luke and Leia getting into anything they could get their hands on. Luke with Artoo or Threepio. Pictures from soccer games, birthdays, school awards. Every July 4th cookout, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas. The last picture was a family portrait Obi-Wan had taken of all five of them in the living room the day they had brought Hayden home from the hospital, Luke sitting proudly on his father's lap, a huge smile on his young face...In every single picture, Anakin knew, Luke was happy, because Luke had been happy. He'd worked so hard as a father to give him that happiness, and now Luke thought…
But the question remained: Why?
"How is this possible?" Mara whispered, obviously upset, and Anakin could feel her walls around her emotions dropping. She was extremely confused, but she was also believing of what they had to say, of what she had just been shown—but she also knew that Luke believed what he'd had to say on the matter.
And, suddenly, Anakin had the answer, and it filled him with an equal amount of horror, dread, and frantic worry for his son. He dropped his head into his hands, shook his head, and took a shuddering breath in to try and calm himself, as all eyes turned to him in concern.
"I know...I know how he did it." His voice sounded way more calm than he felt—probably because he was now sure that he was going into shock. His son had believed all of that wretched nonsense for nine years…nine, awful years. Because of Palpatine. Because of the Sith. The Dark Side manipulation Palpatine had used on Luke had been worse- far, far worse - than anything he'd ever done to Anakin—at least he'd still allowed Anakin the free will to believe his lies. But, Luke, on the other hand, had been forced to believe Palpatine...in the worst way imaginable. And, Anakin knew the pain his son had suffered in that process had been excruciating. Anakin vaguely wondered if he looked as green as he now felt.
Literally, the entire table put their focus solely on him. "Is this something to do with…?" Obi-Wan trailed off, but Anakin knew what he meant. Darth Vader. He silently nodded, and Obi-Wan sighed before closing his eyes and shaking his head sadly.
"Yes. It's certainly a power of the Dark Side," Anakin began slowly, "It's sort of like forcing your way into someone's mind, except normally in that case you're merely an observer to that person's memories. However, with enough power and focus, it is possible to take those memories and alter them, manipulating them to whatever you want the person to remember. It's not a common thing to do, even for the Sith, because most of the time it isn't successful. It usually only works for maybe one fresh memory, or for someone very, very young. Most of the time, it ends up destroying the person's mind, leaving them forever unable to function…" He broke off as a wave of blinding fury finally broke through his shocked state, choking him with its intensity. Underneath the table, his hands clenched into tight fists, and he immediately began going through calming exercises in his mind.
"And, Luke was still young enough to survive." Obi-Wan scowled. Anakin nodded, not trusting himself to speak in that moment. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he'd start demanding that Mara tell him immediately where Luke was, and if she refused…well, he was afraid that he'd resort to measures he hadn't used in over twenty years to get the info from her.
Leia, however, beat him to the punch. "Where is he, Mara?" She demanded, her voice firm, sounding so much like her mother. "He needs to come home. He needs our help. We don't even know if there are any long-term damaging effects—and with those collapses…"
"Collapses? What collapses?" Padme interrupted, shooting Anakin a concerned, panicked look. He was too frantic with anger and worry to wince under her stare. He hadn't exactly told her that Luke had almost collapsed three times while they'd been at the Inquisitor base. He hadn't wanted to worry her more than she already was.
Mara looked a little green now herself. "I…well, it was never my intention to actually tell you where he is," she began, and when Anakin gave her a sharp, furious look, she visibly winced and quickly added, "I'm not saying I won't help, though. That's why I reached out—because I knew I needed to know the whole story to decide how I could best help him." She let out a shaky breath, swallowing hard. "I just had no idea that it would be this terrible…" She trailed off, and Anakin could feel her conflicting emotions. It took all of his willpower not to reach over and start shaking her for the information, but what sanity he had left was telling him that would not help their case.
What was clear, despite Mara's conflicting feelings, was that she was still primarily loyal to Luke. If she thought that Anakin was a danger to Luke in any way, she would rather die before she gave him up to them. As if on cue, she looked sharply at Anakin, as if suddenly remembering. "When I accused you before of trying to kill him, why didn't you say you didn't?"
Because he'd thought that Luke was remembering his past life, when he actually had been trying to kill him as Darth Vader, Anakin thought wearily. How could he explain that though? He didn't know how much Mara knew about her previous life, if anything. How could he explain…?
But, once again, Leia spoke up first. "I'm sorry about what happened, Mara. If I had known about Ben…if I'd kept him close to me instead of sending him away with Luke…maybe everything would have turned out differently." All of them turned to stare at Leia now, as if she'd just spoken gibberish. It might as well have been, because Anakin had no freakin'
idea what she was talking about.
Mara, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what Leia was referring to. She took a sharp breath, her eyes turning to steel. "You…remember?" She asked hesitantly, her emerald eyes locked with Leia's brown ones.
Leia nodded slowly, and Anakin could feel her relief through their Force connection. He realized then, that Leia had taken a gamble—she had revealed something about her shared past with Mara, hoping that Mara remembered and would understand it. "I do remember, yes. I know…I know sorry doesn't cut it. Nothing could, but I will do my best to keep that from happening again, Mara."
"Ben?" Obi-Wan frowned, pointing to himself. "What Ben? Me, Ben?"
Leia shook her head, clearing her throat uncomfortably. "No. No, he…it's a long story." She sighed and rubbed a shaky hand across her brow before dropping her hand back to the table and fiddling with her now empty coffee cup.
"Do you remember?" Anakin asked, slowly, hesitantly, bringing the subject back on track. "Do you know who…what I was?" He eyed Mara warily, concerned about her reaction.
Mara met his eyes determinedly, and though he could feel her surprise and her wonder through the Force, she maintained her cool. "Darth Vader. You and I were not exactly on friendly terms."
Beside him, Leia tensed, and Anakin had to keep from flinching. Force, he needed to talk to Leia about all of this…
"To be honest," Anakin remarked dryly, "I wasn't on good terms with anyone as Darth Vader."
"True." Mara agreed with a smirk that quickly faded away. "Let me guess...You thought I was referring to your deeds as Darth Vader. You thought Luke remembered some of his…other life. Correct?"
"I did." Anakin replied gravely, nodding his head, "Because there is no way I would ever do something like that to him. He saved me, Mara. Luke saved me from the Dark Side. He made all of this," He gestured around at their table, "Possible. Luke is my Hero with No Fear. I know that might be hard for you to believe…"
"Actually," Mara interrupted, "It's not."
Anakin blinked in surprise. "Really?" He asked, confusion evident in his voice. "But why? You know…"
Mara rolled her eyes. "You have obviously never sat through one of Luke's 'lectures' about how you had returned to the Light and had become Anakin Skywalker again, and how Anakin Skywalker was a good man and a great Jedi. Seriously, that man could go on for hours, if you let him. Anakin Skywalker was his hero." She gestured to him. "When this world's Luke told me what he's apparently been forced into thinking I was very confused…but I also wasn't sure what frame of mind you were in, either. I mean...Were you secretly still Darth Vader? Or, were you truly Anakin Skywalker? Luke seems to genuinely believe what I now know to be Palpatine's lie so fervently though, that I figured you must have still been secretly Darth Vader. But obviously," She waved a hand in the air, "you're not a Sith Lord. You really are Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master. Luke…my Luke…he believed you were a good man. Luke isn't a bad judge of character. Usually."
This meeting was just full of surprises. If you'd asked him before this meeting if he ever thought Mara Jade would ever call him a good man, he would have laughed, straight up. Hysterically so. Hearing how Luke had talked about him in their old galaxy, though…it warmed him inside. It proved just how good at heart Luke really was—he could look at a man most of a galaxy rightfully hated and find that one spark of goodness in him...and use that spark to spread the Light. Not only that, but he had apparently talked about it so often, that he'd gotten at least Mara to believe it. He wondered how Leia had ended her life perceiving him…
That was a discussion for a later time. Back to business.
He wondered if he should mention that he knew of Mara's…relationship with his son. Her previous relationship. Even if she did at least believe he was good, he highly doubted that she liked him enough to talk about that yet. Honestly, he still didn't want to believe it, and talking to Mara about it would only confirm its truthfulness. And, he'd rather remain in the dark, no pun intended, about that than be...enlightened by any details. At least for the moment.
"So, what happens now, Mara?" Padme asked, setting her elbows on the table and crossing her arms as she leaned forward slightly. It was patently obvious that Mara had shocked Anakin into silence. "I need to talk to my son."
Mara shook her head and snorted. "You need a whole lot more than just talking to him, that's for sure. You gotta understand, Mrs. Skywalker...Luke believes Palpatine's lie so completely, so thoroughly, I think he would only believe that you were alive if he actually saw you and spoke with you in person." Mara frowned for a moment, trying to think. "You know…Luke isn't home right now. He said he had some errands to run." Anakin opened his mouth to ask what exactly those errands were, but Mara continued, "He'll come back home probably by tonight. You could all wait there for him."
"Please, Mara," Padme breathed out in relief, her lips trembling and tears springing to her eyes.
"He might sense Anakin miles away." Obi-Wan pointed out. "He has a way stronger Force signature than all of us combined. It might scare Luke off." He leaned back in his seat, caution in his tone as he pointed out a possible glitch in this plan.
"I could try hiding it." Anakin offered, though he had never been all that good at it. Anakin was not the type of Jedi to hide himself. He hadn't lived a life where he'd felt like he needed to shield himself...either in their old galaxy or in this one. Leia and Luke were good at it probably because they had previously lived in a galaxy where being discovered as a Force Sensitive was usually a death sentence. In this world, they had continued to shield themselves whenever they were doing something that they didn't want to be caught doing, which Anakin and Obi-Wan had quickly picked up as a red flag and had usually landed the offending siblings in trouble. Still, if they could do it, why couldn't he?
He was the Chosen One, after all.
"You could try," Leia mused, though he could feel her amused skepticism through their connection. She knew that he wasn't exactly subtle. He turned a wry glance toward his daughter, and she smirked in response.
Sorry, Daddy.
Brat.
I could teach you.
Princess, I'm warning you…
Obi-Wan and Leia burst out laughing at this Force exchange while Anakin just rolled his eyes. Padme shook her head and sighed, clearly used to missing out on this type of commentary. At least the momentary spark of humor broke the rising tension at the table, allowing them to refocus.
"Well, it's the best plan we've got," Padme agreed, clearing her throat and leaning back in her seat before glancing sideways at her husband with a smirk, "Ani, shields up." Anakin whipped his head round at his wife's teasing, about to retort, but Mara chose that moment to speak.
"Alright. So, it's settled. Just don't screw anything up in my home." Mara gave Anakin a sharp look, jabbing her finger at him. "And don't blow anything up either."
"It's not my intention to do so, but no promises." Anakin rolled his eyes as he followed Padme out of the booth.
"Lead the way, Jade. We're right behind you."
"Like I said, don't screw anything up." Mara retorted as she dropped her wallet on the kitchen counter. They had followed her here, to this seemingly empty office building on the far outskirts of London. Nothing about the outside of it would have ever made Padme guess that this was where her son had been living. It had looked empty, slightly rundown, and with the exception of the landing pad outside of it, it had looked rather normal. Perhaps that was why Luke had chosen to live with Han Solo and his friends here.
Or maybe, she thought, glancing over at Mara, who was now checking her phone, just maybe there were other reasons for Luke's choice of residence. Leia's warning about Mara having been Luke's wife in their previous life echoed in her head every time she looked at the beautiful flame-haired girl. She didn't know very much about her, other than that she and Darth Vader had known one another during their time serving under Palpatine in their old galaxy. As a result, Anakin had made it clear to her on the ride over here, based on his reaction to Leia's news, that he was not a big fan of Mara's sort being their daughter-in-law.
Padme considered the young woman.
Anakin didn't like her one bit, but Mara didn't seem evil to Padme. Brash and cocky, yeah, but she didn't act like a servant of Palpatine's either. And, her eyes held no trace of Sith yellow. They were a clear emerald green. Besides, she seemed like she genuinely cared for Luke, and wanted to support her son in his endeavors. So, though Padme wasn't sure yet how she felt about the girl, she did respect her for that. She had a gut feeling Luke would have been in a much worse place had it not been for Mara.
Anakin and Obi-Wan stood in what Padme guessed was supposed to be the living room—what it actually looked like, however, was a room meant for office space, with the wall knocked out to expand into the little makeshift kitchen area. The kitchen, though small, had almost everything, except for a stove and a dishwasher. Sure enough, glancing at the trash can, Padme could tell that Luke and his friends mostly ate takeout or had refrigerated meals heated up in the microwave. While Obi-Wan and Anakin conversed quietly, Leia had approached the television center, looking at the rows upon rows of video games and movies that were stacked in the shelves of the entertainment center. Even at this distance, Padme could tell they were mostly made up of Indiana Jones movies, Marvel movies, and Batman movies.
"When will Luke be home?" Padme asked softly.
Mara hesitated, so quickly that Padme almost didn't notice it. Almost. "He said he'd be taking a cab home. I just texted him though and offered to give him a ride."
Padme just wanted to see her son now, to show him, prove to him that she was indeed alive. It hurt her heart deeply to think that her son had spent the last nine years thinking he'd killed her. Not only that, but he'd been forced into thinking his father had turned on him. It made her sick just to think about it. "Could I go with you to pick him up?"
Mara gave her a pointed look. "I may have brought you back to my house, but I really don't think him finding out on my relatively small ship would be such a great idea."
"Why not?" Padme demanded, and she realized that her voice was sharper than she meant it to be. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Soon, she would see her son again. She'd hold him in her arms, or she hoped to, at least. That desire, coupled with what she had learned from Mara, had her a bit on edge, understandably.
Mara didn't seem offended though. In fact, she seemed like she barely noticed it. "Because if seeing you triggers one of his…blackouts, I want to make sure that he's in a safe, stable location."
Well, she had a point, and Padme's maternal instincts kicked in.
"Why do you think he's having these blackouts?" Padme asked softly, worry for her son practically choking her. To try and steady herself, she wrapped her arms around her waist.
Mara watched Padme for a moment before she looked back at her phone, a distant worry flashing across her own startlingly green eyes. "I don't know." She said softly. There was something in her voice that told Padme that she wasn't going to elaborate further, so reluctantly Padme let the subject drop.
As Mara glanced down at her phone again, Padme left the little kitchen area and entered the 'living room,' where Obi-Wan now sat on the couch, outwardly relaxed, but from the hand positioned next to his lightsaber, Padme knew he was anything but that. Anakin had disappeared off into the back of the building, exploring the back rooms, and Leia stood in front of the entertainment center, looking at the display. "What are you looking at, Leia?" Padme asked softly, as she approached her daughter. She longed to ask Leia about her memories—memories she clearly had. Now wasn't the time, however. The moment that they were alone together as a family at the hotel, they would talk.
Leia glanced back at her mom, pausing a moment to really look at her. "I was…looking at the movies. I thought it might give me a chance to get an idea of what Luke….of what he likes now in this world."
That actually wasn't a bad idea come to think of it. Padme glanced at the movies herself—they had every single Marvel movie, Batman movie, and Indiana Jones movie. There were also a lot of other movies that dealt with Space—Star Trek, Interstellar, Galaxy Quest, Treasure Planet, Gravity, Alien….there were so many, Padme herself hadn't even seen all of them. She didn't have to be a Jedi to know that those were probably all Luke's. "You're…different than I imagined you." Leia suddenly said, drawing Padme's attention back to her daughter.
"I'm what?" Padme frowned, and then realized what Leia was referring to, and immediately sobered. "I know. It was never my intention that…"
Leia held up a hand. "Dad explained." She said softly, the look in her eyes distant. She glanced at Mara, who was frowning down at her phone. "We can talk about it more when we aren't so…tense."
Padme's heart ached for her only daughter. It must have been so strange to Leia to have been raised in this world by both of her parents, and then suddenly to remember a whole different life that was full of sadness, and empty and void of her biological parents' love and devotion. She reached out tentatively and touched her daughter's cheek. "I know." She said softly, "But know this—I have always loved you, Leia, and I'm so happy to have had a second chance myself to raise and love you. Your dad wasn't the only one given that chance, y'know."
A strange expression passed through Leia's eyes, and she nodded. "I love you too, Mom." She said, "And…"
The front door to the little home opened up then. Both Leia and Padme whirled to it, their breath caught in their throats, hoping to see Luke walk in the door.
But, it wasn't Luke.
Han Solo stood there, the front door wide open. Behind him was someone else Padme didn't recognize, someone who towered over the other man, and had so much hair, Padme could barely make out a face underneath all of it. The two men stood in the door, staring at Padme, Leia, and Obi-Wan, and Padme couldn't help but notice that Han's hand had instinctively gone to his side, where a gun was holstered on his belt. "Mara, what the hell…?" Han began, but he didn't get to finish.
Leia had quickly recovered from her shock at seeing Han instead of Luke, and a pained cry tore from her lips. Before Padme could process what was going on, Leia had left her side and had closed the distance between her and Han in a flash, where she threw herself into his rather bewildered arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck. "Han!" Leia cried, her voice so full of agony and longing that it almost took Padme's breath away. She had never heard her daughter sound so agonized other than when she spoke of Luke, and she'd never seen her daughter react that way to anyone…
And, then Leia fisted her hands in his hair and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.
The man behind Han dropped his jaw in shock. Obi-Wan had launched to his feet, raising a half-stretched hand towards Leia. "Um," Obi-Wan began, unsure what to do. "Leia…"
"Well." Mara muttered absently from where she was still fiddling with her phone in the kitchen, "That escalated quickly."
Standing still in shock at first, Padme belatedly remembered the stories Anakin had told her of their old life after her death. In that life, the last Anakin remembered, Leia and Han had clearly been in love and were very loyal to one another. And, Anakin had also made no secret of the fact that he was just as displeased with Leia's choice of partner as he was with Mara.
Oh, Force. I hope they let go of each other before Ani walks in and sees that, She thought before her heart swelled with understanding—and sadness. She knew what that was like—to live a life not remembering the love of her life, and then suddenly remembering…and Anakin had been forced to stay quiet about his memories for months before she'd remembered...and if she hadn't have remembered, they likely would not have married in this world. Oh yeah, she knew that anguish. But, from the pain in Leia's voice when she'd said Han's name...somehow, Padme had a feeling that their other life hadn't ended so well, at least relationship-wise.
And, from Han's shocked look and wide eyes, Padme guessed that Han didn't remember any of that either.
Leia finally pulled away, grasping Han's upper arms. "Han, how I've missed you! So, so much…" Leia began, looking up into Han's dazed expression…and her whole body tensed as she realized that Han didn't remember. As if she'd been burned, she suddenly pulled away, putting distance between her and the man she clearly loved. "I…I'm sorry, I...I thought you w-were…someone else." Leia's voice was thick with emotion, but she didn't turn away from Han.
Han just stared at her, his mouth slightly open as he studied her as if he were really seeing her for the first time. "Huh." He said, but although Padme hated how much it clearly hurt Leia to know that Han didn't remember her, at least Han's hand had left his gun. "Huh." He said again, tilting his head a little. "Mara," He didn't pull his eyes away from Leia, though. "Why is Luke's sister here with…" he glanced at Padme and then Obi-Wan, "Other random people?"
"It's a long story," Mara said absently again, but this time there was an edge to her voice. "Hey, Han, have you…?"
It was at that point that Anakin decided to walk back into the living room from the back of the house. Han immediately sprang into action, drawing his gun…and pushing Leia abruptly behind him. "What the hell….?!"
"Relax, Han," Mara rolled her eyes, "They're all with me."
"With you?!" Han demanded incredulously, "There'd better be a damn good explanation for this, Mara…"
"There is." Mara assured him.
"Yeah? Then start talking!" He demanded, still not lowering the gun.
"I…" Mara's phone lit up, and she glanced down to look at the message. Instantly, her body tensed, and she bit out a curse. "SITH SPIT! I'm going to bloody well kill him, I swear!"
"Kill who?" Anakin demanded, his voice serious. Throughout the entire exchange, he hadn't so much as gone for his lightsaber. Clearly, Han didn't scare Anakin one bit.
But, Mara didn't answer. Instead, she whirled on Han. "Luke's in trouble."
"What?!" Padme began, starting forward, but Han was already shaking his head.
"What else is new?!" He demanded, "He hasn't wanted our help before. Now, are you going to explain…"
"No, Han, this is different!" Mara shouted, her voice hard but with an edge of panic to it. That stopped Han short, and he listened to her with renewed interest. Mara was apparently not one to panic.
"What's wrong with Luke?!" Anakin's voice was calm, but had the commanding edge that demanded that he be answered. Now.
Mara ran a frustrated hand through her red-gold hair, her green eyes flashing. "We were supposed to go together…DAMMIT, we were supposed to go together!"
"Mara." Anakin stalked over and stood in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest, towering over her, his eyes hard as durasteel, his jaw locked. Mara seemed like the type of person who would rip someone's face off if they got in her personal space like that, but she didn't attack Anakin. Perhaps, she knew better.
"I'll ask you again, Mara...What has happened to Luke?!"
Mara stared up at him, swallowing a lump in her throat, but she didn't dare to not answer this time.
"He's going to infiltrate the Inquisitor main base—alone." Everyone looked grim. Though Padme didn't know as much about the Inquisitors as Anakin, Leia, and Obi-Wan did, even she knew how incredibly dangerous...and foolish that idea was. At Mara's next words, the room went still, and a pin could literally have been heard if dropped.
"It's a suicide mission. If we don't get to him in time…Luke will get himself killed."
Sorry for the late update. I was on a business trip and couldn't really write. I've got a few weeks before I'm back on another trip, so hopefully I'll be able to update more. I'm already working on the next chapter, so let's hope. Luke will be with his family again very soon.
Review!
Love,
Sarah
