The Force coursed through him at full power. It wasn't the Dark Side, or even the Light—it was just the Force.

His son was in pain.

Anakin could sense it the moment Solo had brought the Falcon within miles of the hidden mountain base. He stopped wondering at how strange it was to actually be on the Falcon without being the enemy. He stopped worrying about the strange feelings that were suddenly illuminating from both Solo and Leia. He stopped trying to talk battle strategy with Obi-Wan. And, he didn't dare tell Padme what he was feeling. He didn't want to frighten her. This was hard enough on his wife as it was.

Luke was in terrible, terrible pain. His stunt, like Mara had predicted, had not gone well, and now Luke was suffering for it. Horribly.

It was only his careful training over two lifetimes that kept him from getting raging angry, but that didn't stop him from harnessing the Force to its full extent. The other Force Sensitives on the Falcon could feel Luke's pain, too. Obi-Wan was trying to meditate, but his countenance was grim from the ripples of pain he sensed in the Force, and while Leia sobered more than she already had since their coffee house meeting, Mara had gone tense and defensive as a wildcat ready to launch itself at an attacker. When she insisted on going with Anakin, Leia, and Obi-Wan to launch a ground assault, Anakin didn't bother arguing. She'd likely drive Solo crazy, and Solo was going to be busy leading the other Jedi in the air raid on the base.

Which also, hadn't been his idea.

He'd called all available Jedi around Switzerland, France, and Germany to help in the assault, but it was Obi-Wan who had suggested that Solo lead the air assault. "Han proved to be a cunning warrior in our old galaxy. He was a general in the Rebellion and one good pilot," Obi-Wan reminded him calmly when Anakin had first objected.

"But, he doesn't remember that past." Leia put in, and Anakin didn't miss the sour note in her voice. He made a mental note to have a firm talk with his daughter about Solo later...once Luke was home safe.

"Maybe not," Obi-Wan agreed with a shrug, "But he also has the best ship. That even Anakin can't deny." Oh, Anakin wanted to deny it alright, but unlike Anakin, who had a ship at home in Texas that rivaled...maybe even surpassed...the Falcon's capabilities, both Jedi Grand Masters knew full well that the Jedi only had standard order ships. Solo's heavily modified ship was the perfect vehicle for the air offensive on the base. Like it or not, Anakin couldn't deny it...

Even the Jedi needed all the help they could get on this mission.

Still, he'd hoped that when they presented the idea to Solo, that the man would flat out refuse. Everyone in their old galaxy knew how much Solo loved his ship. This Solo wasn't any different in that regard. However, Solo just rolled his eyes, said, "Why did I ever think it was a good idea to get involved with a bunch of crazy Force-wielding wizards?" and then agreed to lead the attack. From the look Solo had shot Leia when he'd agreed, Anakin had a very unsettling feeling that his agreement had nothing to do with the man actually wanting to lead an attack.

Anakin was glad of one thing. At least, Padme had agreed to stay on the ship, manning the guns in the Falcon and hadn't insisted on joining the ground assault into the base. Being the loving protective husband that he was, he would have preferred that she stay in London and stay out of the battle altogether, but it was her son down there too, just as much as his, so he knew better than to ask her to stay out of the fight to rescue Luke. And, he knew she was still one hell of a crack shot...be it with bullets or blasters.

As the Jedi's air forces amassed near the crest of the mountain base, Anakin jerked his internal musings back to the present, looking around at Obi-Wan, Mara, Leia, and Padme. From the cockpit, Solo hollered out, 'One Minute! Prepare for assault!" The group looked from one to the other, nodding in understanding, and Obi-Wan, Leia, and Mara walked toward the ramp door, leaving Anakin and Padme behind.

Anakin walked over and hugged his wife tight. This was it. The time they had waited for, for nine agonizing years...Today, they would finally bring their son home. Gently taking his wife's face in his hands, Anakin leaned down and tenderly kissed her then bent his forehead to hers. At the same time, they both said, "Be safe." Pulling back, they both smirked, and Anakin's voice boomed out the order they'd been waiting for…

"Let's do this!"


Now, he was on the ground, inside of the base. Half of the complex had obviously been nearly demolished by an avalanche of snow, so it hadn't been hard to determine which door Luke had broken into (the cutout, melted metal sort of gave it away). Including the Falcon, there were ten ships who began to rain down bullets on the base, destroying whatever seemed vital. For a moment, as the sound of impacting bullets tearing through metal, glass, and concrete filtered into the hallway they entered, Anakin felt a brief surge of fear that Padme might get hurt if any anti-aircraft fire was returned, but he shook it off. He knew his wife could handle herself in such situations. And, if all went as planned, they'd rescue Luke, capture as many of the Inquisitors alive as possible to take them to the Jedi sanctuaries across Europe for rehabilitation and medical care, and destroy this cursed Sith base before leaving...There were ten more Jedi Knights who had joined the ground assault from their European sanctuaries. "Don't kill if you don't have to," Anakin ordered them all as they entered the base, "These are all kids like Luke who have been captured and brainwashed into practically worshiping Palpatine. Our quarrel is not with them, but with their leaders. Got it?"

"Yes, Master," each muttered before they split into groups, lightsabers ignited and blazing as they spread out to search various corridors.

"You realize that might be an impossible order," Mara pointed out, igniting her own lightsaber. It was a violet blade, like Mace Windu's had been, and somehow the color seemed to…fit her. She seemed like she was totally comfortable with using it as well, and as they made their way down the corridor, she strode with the confidence not only of a warrior, but of a fully-trained Jedi. Anakin frowned at that, but chose not to ask about it. Perhaps, they could have that discussion at a later time.

First things first. Find Luke.

"We can still try." Obi-Wan answered from Anakin's side. He too had his lightsaber ignited already. Anakin hadn't even bothered to ignite his lightsaber yet. He'd meant it when he said to try not to kill the Inquisitors. They were Luke's age, or even younger. He didn't want to kill children if he didn't have to...He'd done that once as Vader and had sworn in this world never to repeat that episode, and he didn't plan on doing so today.

"Leia, can you sense where Luke is?" he asked. Despite being able to feel his son's pain, Luke's Force signature was dulled and distorted, and he couldn't get a clear read on where it was coming from. Even with half of the facility buried under snow, it was still a massive base. Perhaps Leia, being his twin, would sense more.

"No, Dad," She frowned, and he could feel her reaching out with the Force. "It feels like your presence did when you were drugged in Namibia."

Anakin held himself back from cursing out loud in front of his daughter (hey, he was still a dad—he had to at least try to set a good example), settling instead for cursing in Huttese in his mind, and as he did, a troop of about ten Inquisitors rounded the corner, just ahead of them, lightsabers blazing, charging at full speed towards them. Mara and Leia moved into a defensive stance, lightsabers ablaze, bracing themselves to engage, but Anakin stepped forward. "I've got this. Stand down," He said grimly, reaching out with both of his hands as he stretched out with the Force…and lifted every single one of them up off of the ground.

Clearly, the Inquisitors hadn't expected this, and there was panic in their ranks as he did so. They flailed around like wet noodles in the air, shouting at him furiously in various languages, but he got the message: They wanted down. But, he wasn't about to do that...yet.

"Nice trick," Mara mused, "But now what?"

"Oh, Force," Obi-Wan muttered, rolling his eyes, "You're not about to do what I think you're going to do, are you?"

"To save their lives?" Anakin acknowledged, "Yes. It isn't a Dark Side power if used for the right reasons." As he said this, he used the Force and reached into their minds, softly using the Force to almost lull them into a deep sleep. Once every Inquisitor was knocked out, he gently placed them back on the floor. "There. Now, there's no need to kill any of them. Leia, comm Blue Leader and tell him to dispatch his crew to this location to pick up this group of Inquisitors. He should be arriving with the transports for the prisoners in," He checked his watch on his wrist, "five minutes." Having said that, he didn't wait for their response, and began stepping over the unconscious bodies, as Leia comm'ed their incoming transports.

"You need to be careful with that one, Anakin." Obi-Wan reminded him wearily, but Anakin could feel that Obi-Wan had relaxed a little. Obi-Wan didn't want to kill any of these kids any more than Anakin did.

"Is that….normally a Dark Side power?" Leia asked slowly, as they followed Anakin and Obi-Wan through the deserted corridors.

To his surprise, it was Mara who spoke up. "Normally, yes, but only because it becomes very easy to twist someone's mind and take away their will. It isn't something that should ever be abused…though I've never seen it done in mass like that, which was incredible to watch. Kudos, Skywalker." There was a hint of wonder in her voice, but she did well to hide most of it.

Most of it.

Anakin glanced back over his shoulder to look at the woman who he had spent most of his time as Vader disliking. The woman who was apparently his daughter-in-law. "You seem to know more about the Force than the average Padawan, Mara." He commented dryly, eyebrow cocked in an unspoken question.

Something defiant flashed in Mara's brilliant green eyes. "I had a good teacher, Skywalker."

Before Anakin could even ask, there was a massive BOOM, and the four Force Wielders had to use the walls to brace themselves as the building shuddered violently around them…and the lights went black. Please, NOT Padme, Anakin couldn't help but think.

For a moment, the group was silent, the only light being the three lightsaber blades still ignited, which emitted a pastel glow of blue, green, and violet, like a rainbow, in the hallway. "I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan muttered, as Anakin finally pulled out his own lightsaber and ignited it for extra light, the snap-hiss seeming to echo in the stillness around them. Anakin couldn't help but agree—he'd stopped feeling his son in pain, but he felt a sudden pulse from the Force, as if something much worse were about to happen.

They needed to find Luke. Now.

As if on cue, an Inquisitor rounded the corner in a flat out run—a boy, really. He couldn't have been older than twelve. When he saw the four Force users before him, he yelped in panic, fumbled at his belt for his lightsaber, stumbling backward…but was stopped before he could go any further. In a few quick strides, Mara had closed the distance between them, her lightsaber suddenly at the kid's throat. The boy's eyes widened in horror, and he began to shake in his shoes. Literally. Clearly, he was still just a student.

"Tell me where Luke is, and you won't get hurt." She warned darkly. Anakin was already moving forward, opening his mouth to order her to stand down. He would not tolerate torturing a youngling, and given Mara's past, he had no doubt that she would do so if she felt it necessary.

"Wh-who is L-Luke?" The boy stammered in heavily accented English, and Anakin could feel his panic at not knowing who she was talking about.

"Stand down, Mara." Anakin snapped the order when he was close enough, but Mara ignored him.

"Fine. Where is Starkiller? I know your people have him! Where is he, boy?!" The young boy's demeanor changed with recognition, and Anakin paused. The boy knew….or at least he knew that Starkiller was in custody.

"I….I don't…." he began, and Mara pressed the humming blade closer to his throat.

"Mara!" Anakin snapped again, raising his own blade to stop her. He wanted to find his son too, but this was not the way to do it. They weren't going to stoop to the level of a Sith! As a Jedi Grand Master, Anakin wouldn't allow this.

"Shut it, Skywalker," Mara growled, "I'm not going to kill him." She paused, looking the boy over. "But, he doesn't need those fingers. What do you say, kid? I start slicing fingers for every second you don't…"

"NO!" The kid screamed in terror, and Anakin used the Force to literally pull Mara away from the boy, his own fury sparking. The kid dropped to his knees before the four of them, shaking violently, but not running away. He probably knew that he wouldn't get away from four powerful Force Wielders by himself.

"I warned you, Mara! We are not going to harm these children!" Anakin snarled through clenched teeth. What he really wanted to do was yell at her, take her lightsaber away, and lock her up somewhere where she wouldn't do any damage, but he had a strong feeling that wouldn't earn him any points with Luke. So, he settled for the less...aggressive...tactic.

Mara's eyes flashed with anger at having been interrupted, and she whirled on Anakin. "Look, just because you don't have what it takes to rescue Luke, doesn't mean that I…"

Anakin's temper spiked again, and as they argued, none but perhaps Obi-Wan noticed Leia quietly crouch down in front of the terrified boy, reaching a hand out gently to brush the boy's hair out of his face. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan snapped, effectively cutting Anakin's scathing retort short, "Mara! Be quiet and let Leia handle this." He motioned toward Leia with his head.

Anakin and Mara reluctantly looked away from one another to stare down at Leia, who was speaking softly to the boy. "…he's my brother, you see. All I want is to take him home. If you tell us where he is, we'll leave. All of us. You can live. But, if we don't know where he is, the longer my friends and I will stay, fighting to find him, and you might not live." A bomb suddenly exploded from somewhere far away, shaking the building anew, and the boy winced. "I know you're scared, little one. But, you have the power to make this attack stop. Just tell me where I can find him." Leia's voice was so soothing as she continued to softly stroke the boy's hair, like a mother soothing a frightened child. A tactic Padme would have used. So like her mother, Anakin thought with a burst of paternal pride.

For a moment though, Anakin wasn't sure if the boy would tell them. If he was an older Inquisitor, he probably wouldn't. But, the boy proved him wrong. "The detention cells...I don't know which one exactly, but I can tell you where they are."

Mara made a little noise of surprise, but Leia only smiled grimly, as the boy told her where to go. "Thank you." She said softly, standing and backing out of the boy's personal space. "Go. May the Force be with you."

The boy looked at her in confusion…and got up and bolted off down the hallway away from them. "See?" Leia said, lifting her eyebrows knowingly, already moving to follow the boy's directions. "All you have to do is ask nicely. Usually."

"Suuuuure," Mara said grudgingly, shooting a glare at Anakin before following after her.

Anakin sighed, glancing at Obi-Wan. "Why did it have to be Mara freakin' Jade, Obi-Wan?! Why? Out of ALL the women on this planet...Why her?!" He grumbled, already trying to imagine living the rest of his life trying to be cordial with the infernal flame-haired girl that had apparently captured his son's heart. "Why couldn't Luke have married someone else? Like…I'd be totally happy if he decided to marry a rock."

"A rock?!" Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow, the corners of his lips twitching with amusement. "Come now, Anakin...I think that's taking it a bit too far, don't you think? I mean, you're a romantic kind of guy...Would you prefer curling up in bed next to a rock every night instead of Padme?!" The older Jedi's eyes danced with mirth.

"Alright, alright! I see your point," Anakin huffed and turned away to follow Mara's receding back, clearly scowling, "But, at least a rock wouldn't be so…so…blasted infuriating!"

"Yes...Sounds like someone else I know." Obi-Wan commented, and Anakin gritted his teeth to keep from replying to that, which made Obi-Wan smirk in quiet amusement.


It didn't take them long to reach the detention cells, thanks to the boy's directions. By now, there were bombs and anti aircraft guns going off outside every minute or so, sending repetitive shudders throughout the structure, increasing the risk of collapse with every shake. "We have to hurry," Anakin said into the darkness, "It sounds really bad out there." He didn't like the idea of his Jedi being out there with just Solo to lead them…and Solo had his beloved wife on board his ship, too...and she was manning a gun turret firing off some of those rounds! If Solo messed up and the Falcon got hit…No, he didn't want to think of his wife getting hit with any more bullets. Once in a lifetime was more than enough!

The sooner they could find Luke and all of them get out of here to safety, the better.

From up ahead, Leia abruptly stopped, moving her lightsaber closer to one of the doors. "Umm...Dad? Uncle Ben? Come look at this." From beside her Mara cursed, muttering something about stupid, heroic, runaway Jedi. Anakin pointedly ignored her and he and Obi-Wan joined them….and Anakin cursed out loud this time when he saw what Leia was looking at. Clearly, this was the cell Luke had been in. The door had been pushed open to a space about Luke's size, with melted metal around what had been the locking mechanism. Anakin peered into the darkness of the cell with his blue lightsaber and saw the crumpled figure of an unconscious Inquisitor and a metal torture table with its electrically charged restraints released.

"He sure has a knack for escaping, doesn't he?" Obi-Wan commented dryly.

Anakin flashed back to all those times when he'd hunted Luke across the galaxy as Darth Vader. Literally, the only reason Vader had been able to bring Luke to Palpatine in the first place was because Luke turned himself in with the sole purpose of rescuing him.

"You have nooo idea," Anakin said sourly. "Now what? Any ideas?"

"Well," Leia began, frowning at the gap, "We could begin searching the halls around here. He might not have gone…." She didn't finish. Suddenly, Leia paled, straightening up, her eyes widening in horror, as she stared at almost nothing.

"Leia?" Anakin asked, concern mixing with his frustration at not having found Luke yet. He reached out, touching her shoulder hesitantly, gently, and the moment he did, she snapped out of it with a gasp, whirling on him.

"Daddy, I know where Luke is!" There was such conviction in her voice, that Anakin was momentarily stunned. Leia didn't wait though. She turned on her heel and began to run flat out down the corridor away from them. "Luke's in trouble!" She yelled over her shoulder into the darkness.

"Leia! Wait!" Anakin called, starting out after her. Dimly, he could feel Obi-Wan and Mara begin running after them both. "What's going...?"

"No time to explain!" Leia hollered, picking up speed with the help of the Force, as she darted around corner after corner until…she abruptly stopped. Anakin almost crashed right into her, and it was only years of training that kept him from doing so. Obi-Wan and Mara pulled up short and stopped as well, and all four of them stood and stared in utter shock at the mess before them.

They stood facing a long, narrow hallway…or rather what was left of one. The middle section had been blown completely apart, the smoke just beginning to clear. To the left, there were still flames licking at the ground, but it was dying down to the point that Anakin could tell that it had not been a bomb, but instead was what little was left of a crashed ship. Heart sinking, Anakin began to make his way over to the wreckage to check to see if it was one of their Jedi or one of the Inquisitors (although so little was left, he doubted he'd be able to tell just by looking, as the impact had practically obliterated the craft), but Leia had already recovered and was making her way towards the collapsed rubble. It looked like the right wall had been blown apart as well.

Force, he hoped Luke wasn't…

"LUKE!" Leia's shrill shriek brought reality crashing down on Anakin. She suddenly bolted through the right side of the wreckage and into the frigid cold outside. Suddenly, it became very hard to stand. Anakin was almost afraid to go after her, afraid of what he'd see. Was he too late? Had Luke been caught up in the blast? No…he'd have sensed Luke's death, wouldn't he? He hadn't been connected like that to Luke in a very long time, but Luke was still his son. He could hear Leia comm'ing someone, her voice distant, the tone frantic, but though Anakin couldn't see her any longer, he could hear her panic…

And that was enough to propel him forward in a rush.

What he saw made him almost lose it. Crumbled chunks of the splintered wall were scattered about, but the snow was drenched crimson red with blood. Luke's blood. Force! There was so much of it, Anakin was sure that Luke was dead. He had to be to have lost that much blood. He forced himself to keep going, feeling as if he were stumbling around on numb legs, barely able to breathe—he couldn't fall apart, as much as he wanted to. Luke needed him. Leia needed him. Padme needed him. The Jedi needed him. He was the Chosen One, after all. He couldn't lose it now, he just couldn't….In an instant, he was at Luke's other side, falling to his knees.

Shrapnel.

There were countless jagged shrapnel pieces from some sort of explosion embedded in his son, mostly in his legs and his chest. With shaking hands, Anakin reached down and gently felt Luke's neck for a pulse. For a heartbeat, he didn't feel anything, but then….There! It was weak, but it was there.

Luke was still alive….for now.

He realized that Obi-Wan was also there, trying to get his attention. "…kin! Anakin!" When Anakin lifted his head and met his friend's eyes, Obi-Wan continued urgently, "We need to get him into a healing trance! Now!" His voice was firm, no-nonsense, the voice of a Jedi Grand Master and General. Leia was still on the comm, speaking to someone, her voice shaking and on the verge of hysterics, but Anakin couldn't pull his focus away from his son to help her. He had to help Luke, and though he wasn't ever very good at healing trances (not because he didn't have the ability to learn, but because it just had never been his focus of study), he would do what he had to in order to save his son.

He wasn't going to lose him. The Force wouldn't take Luke from him, not this time.

Anakin reached out, placing a hand on Luke's forehead, brushing blonde curls so like his own away as he did so. Sensing that Anakin would need help in this, Obi-Wan reached out to support him, placing his own hand on the side of Luke's face, and closed his eyes. Anakin closed his eyes as well, willing himself to calm, reaching out with the Force to his son. Despite being on the verge of death, Luke's presence in the Force was surprisingly strong, and it didn't take long for Anakin to make contact with Luke's presence. Even years later, after all of the twisting and warping Palpatine had done to Luke's mind, after all of the darkness that Luke had been forced to endure at the Sith Lord's evil hand, Anakin was able to push past all of that straight to the core of Luke's soul—straight to who Luke really was. Even though there was certainly darkness there (as there still was to a degree with Anakin), Luke was, at his core, good. It shone brightly, though the light was dimming, and as Anakin's presence touched that very essential part of who Luke was, Luke's presence responded.

The very core of Luke's presence knew Anakin. It knew that Anakin was his father, and it latched onto Anakin's presence like a starving child to food. It knocked Anakin breathless with its intensity, it's desperation to never let go again, reminding Anakin of how Luke had called out to him so desperately before he'd left for Mars when Luke was but a year old…"Da!," It cried out...and as it did so, something clicked into place, something that Anakin had missed for nine, tortuous, awful years.

Their bond.

Immediately, Anakin felt as if he'd found a missing part of himself. He felt whole, and yet with that came the overwhelming knowledge that beyond the fact that his son was currently dying, there was something fundamentally broken in his son. Anakin could feel something like a barrier, a wall of some sort in Luke's mind, a barrier stronger than any durasteel, so strong that it could not be shattered by anyone but Luke, a barrier that was holding back Luke's true memories…and it tore Anakin up inside.

Yes, as a former Sith Lord, he'd understood exactly what had happened to his son in Palpatine's clutches when Mara had described it to him, but now that he was faced with the undeniable proof….it made him want to hide Luke away from anything that could hurt him again, and never let him go.

Anakin, Obi-Wan's voice in his mind brought him back to the task at hand, The healing trance? Quickly!

Right. Anakin pressed into his renewed bond with his son, sending calming, soothing waves and his love into his son's mind, as he coaxed it into less of an unconscious state and more into a healing-coma-trance-like state. Given how weak Luke was, it wasn't hard, and soon Luke was falling deep into the healing trance, which would buy them some time to get him to a proper medical facility. As Anakin began to withdraw, he sent one last, clear thought into Luke's mind: I'm right here, Luke. I love you, Son. I won't leave you…so don't you dare leave me.

He couldn't tell if Luke actually heard those words, but Anakin meant it all the same. He pulled away, coming back to reality, opening his eyes. Obi-Wan was still on Luke's other side and opening his eyes as well. Anakin turned to visually find Leia, to see her and Mara a bit away, waving their arms as the Falcon was preparing to land. Anakin realized then that Leia must have comm'ed Padme, who must have directed Solo where to find them. "We need to get Luke on the ship," Anakin found himself saying. His voice was way calmer than he was feeling. Maybe that was a good thing. He didn't need Padme freaking out at this point because he was. He carefully began to move Luke, putting one of his son's arms over his shoulders, wrapping his other arm around his son's waist, as Obi-Wan put Luke's other arm over his, and also braced an arm around Luke's middle. As the Falcon landed in the snow, the ramp lowering, Anakin and Obi-Wan began to carry Luke gently, but hurriedly, towards the ship.

As the ramp lowered, Padme appeared at the top, looking like she was going to run down to meet them, but she froze at the sight of Luke, her skin paling, mouth dropping into a horrified 'oh,' as her eyes widened. "Padme," Anakin grunted as they began to head up the ramp, "I need you to get Solo to show you where the medical supplies are." He didn't bother telling her it was going to be fine—he wasn't sure of that himself, and Luke obviously didn't look like it was going to be fine.

Padme was a woman of action, something Anakin had always admired about her, and her husband's words to her had their intended effect—it got her to move again. Although he could see the terror in her dark brown eyes, could feel her worry for their son rolling off of her in waves, she steeled herself and nodded, glancing once last time at Luke before she rushed off to do as he asked.

"Daddy…" Leia's voice from behind him was soft and shaking. "Is Luke going to…?"

He didn't know. He didn't want to know. "Princess, I need you to focus right now. Give Solo the location coordinates of the Swiss Jedi Sanctuary. We need to get Luke to a medical facility and a Jedi Healer, now!"

Leia, like her mother, was a woman of action. As they entered the Falcon, she hurried off to do just that, leaving Anakin and Obi-Wan to carry Luke to the tiny medical bay in the back of the Falcon. Laying Luke gently down on the bed mounted to the wall, they strapped him to the bed to keep him from rolling off, and Anakin brushed his fingers gently across his son's brow, his eyes tearing up. After nine horrendous years of pain and anguish that only a parent can imagine, his son was finally where he belonged.

On his way home.


I'm right here, Luke. I love you, Son. I won't leave you…so don't you dare leave me.

The words penetrated the darkness Luke was lying in, and he frowned. Was that…his father? It sounded like his voice, but the words...they didn't match anything his father would ever say to Luke, though. But suddenly, Luke didn't feel so alone in that darkness anymore. He wasn't cold anymore either—he felt warm, even. He could still feel that his body was weak, that it was dying, but it seemed…slower, somehow. Luke didn't understand what had changed, but lying in that darkness, he didn't care. All he cared about was that the pain wasn't as bad, and he didn't feel alone anymore.

He didn't know how long he lay in that darkness. Minutes. Hours. Days. Years. It didn't really matter. But eventually, the darkness began to recede, to brighten, just a little, until he was staring up at the stars. He felt a gentle breeze brush across his face, a warm breeze. Beneath him was hard stone. When he turned his head to try to get his bearings, he could see the dim lights of a city in the distance. In an instant, he knew where he was, though he wasn't sure how he'd ended up there.

Egypt. On top of the Pyramid of Giza.

It was a dream, he knew that, and yet it felt so real. His fingertips could even feel grains of sand that had been blown there probably by one of the sandstorms. He'd been there once before, had climbed that pyramid (not legally of course) in the middle of the night with…Fingertips brushed his, and his heart pounded in his ears. He was almost afraid to turn his head, afraid of what he would see. "Luke." Her voice reached him, tearing his soul apart. It was as kind and gentle as he remembered it, much too kind for an Inquisitor. Slowly, he forced himself to turn his head to look to his other side, where she'd lain before when they'd done this in real life. There she was, exactly as he remembered, and yet even in the dream, he could feel that she wasn't the same. "Luke." She said softly, and he could see her blue eyes alight with emotion even in the dimness. "Go back, Luke. It's not your time yet."

Luke frowned, opened his mouth to speak, and at first no words came out. It took him a few tries, but he eventually managed to say, "I'm so sorry, Talia."

She gave a little sigh, rolling over so that she was on her side, facing him. Her dark hair fell around her face like a waterfall. He knew what it would feel like if he reached out and touched it. Thick. Soft as silk. He refrained from doing so. "None of this is your fault." She told him, and there was conviction in her voice. "It was never your fault."

"How can you say that?" Luke demanded, but he couldn't bring himself to actually be upset. Still, she knew what he did. She'd seen with her own eyes what he'd done right before she'd died. She knew that her death was his fault. If he'd just…

"Because, I made my choice, Luke." She replied softly, "There are things you don't know about me. Things I never got to tell you. Things I was going to tell you that night…" She trailed off, her gaze unfocusing for a brief moment before she shook her head. "You have to go back. There are people who love you who are waiting for you, Luke. You have to go home now."

Luke frowned, his mind flashing to Mara. He refrained from asking about that though—he didn't know what the protocol was exactly for talking to your dead girlfriend, but he assumed bringing up your living girlfriend wasn't a good idea. Still, she said people…as in plural. Han and Chewie, maybe? "I'm pretty sure I've screwed up most of my relationships with all those people." He remarked dryly. "I guess the Inquisitor-training runs deep."

Talia rolled her eyes. "Please, you and I both know that neither of us were really destined to be good Inquisitors." Luke frowned. They'd joked about that a few times when they'd started dating, but he didn't think she'd ever been serious about it. As far as he knew, she wanted nothing more than to become Palpatine's apprentice, and when she had gone to become just that, she'd been betrayed. He didn't get the chance to ask though. She continued, "Your relationships aren't what you think they are."

"Well." He said, "That's not cryptic at all." He rolled his eyes, and quirked an eyebrow at her.

She smiled a little, a smile that he never thought he'd see again. It was just as beautiful now as it had been before. "I think that's part of the job description when you become a Force Ghost."

"A what?"

She shook her head. "Nevermind. The point is this….Do you remember why I asked you to come to the base in Namibia?"

Of course he did. "You said you'd found out important information. You said it was something I needed to know, something that could only be said in person. You asked me to come so that you could tell me a truth that needed to be revealed." He frowned. "I think you're just good at being cryptic."

"Right." She said, and he assumed she meant for both the answer to her question and his own comment on her personality. "When you wake up, Luke, you're going to find out what it was that I was going to tell you. Someone you know, someone you love very much is waiting there to tell you." She placed a hand on his cheek, and though he could feel her touch, it wasn't warm. Another reminder that she was dead, and part of his past, never his future. "I want you to remember that, even though things are about to change for you in ways that you may find hard to believe at first, you are where you're meant to be. When you feel like running…don't. Rely on those who love you, Luke. You can't defeat Palpatine alone." She paused then, a strange look in her eyes. "Don't do what I did."

Wait, what?

But before he could ask, the edges of his vision became hazy. "It's time, Luke. Go home." Talia smiled then, a real smile. "Be happy. Live, Luke...Live and enjoy life. That's all I want from you."

There was still so much he wanted to say, still so much he needed to know…but he had a feeling that wasn't important, and nothing he could say would adequately make up for what happened. "You be happy, too. Wherever you are."

Her gaze softened, and as the vision began to fade, she reached out and touched his chest, right over his heart. "I am never far, Luke. I'll always be with you. Always."

The vision faded, and for a moment there was only darkness. Moments passed, each one bringing more and more heaviness to his body. He began to feel…not the pain of sustained injuries, but an ache of old injuries, the ache of not having moved for a very long time. There was a strange taste in his mouth, a strange smell that filled his nostrils. It was almost like a really strong aloe vera gel, and he felt as if it had covered him completely at some point, and it now just left a dry itchy residue all over him. He was exhausted, too. Unbelievably exhausted. He was tempted to sleep forever, and yet Talia's words echoed in his head.

Go back. Wake up. Go home.

Slowly, he forced himself to open his heavy eyelids. It took a few tries, but eventually, they opened, and he winced as light flooded his vision suddenly, blinding him. Soon, though, his eyes adjusted, and he frowned in confusion at his surroundings. He wasn't lying in a pool of blood on top of a Swiss mountain, surrounded by freezing snow. He was in what looked like a very comfortable bedroom with some medical equipment next to the bed. It was definitely not a hospital, and yet he also suspected that it was some sort of medical treatment center. The sheets he was under were a dark grayish-blue, and on the wall directly in front of him was mounted a flat screen TV, with a few plush chairs in random areas, and…He froze, his eyes catching sight of someone he thought he'd never see again.

His mom.

She was sitting in a chair right by his side, one hand holding onto his. Her head was bowed, her eyes closed, her hair pulled back into a messy braid. She was leaning on the mattress, her forehead resting against his right leg. If he wasn't mistaken, there were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep…but he had to be mistaken. His mother was dead. And, angels didn't have dark circles under their eyes.

So, then, he wasn't alive either. It certainly felt like he was alive, and Talia had certainly suggested that it wasn't his time yet. Had he died anyway? Was death just a copy of real life, except without the living in it? But…he was breathing. He felt warm. And, honestly, waking up dead in a relatively cozy yet unimpressive bedroom with medical equipment was sort of anticlimactic. And, yet there was no other explanation for what he was seeing.

Padme Skywalker was dead.

He'd seen it with his own eyes! He could feel the necklace he'd taken from her still around his neck like a weight. His mind whirled with confusion and the knowledge that he really had died, and…It didn't matter. His mom was sitting there, and he didn't care if she was asleep or not (did dead people need sleep? What was the point of being dead if it was just like life?). He needed his mom, just like he'd needed her for so many years. "Mom," His voice was rough and raspy from not using it in he didn't know how long. Yet another thing he hadn't expected to happen when he was dead. "Mom!"

His mother suddenly jerked awake, gasping, her brown eyes wide, her head shooting up…the same soft, loving eyes he'd dreamed about for so many years. Her gaze settled on him, staring as if she couldn't comprehend that Luke was dead with her now. But the realization hit her, and tears filled her eyes. "Luke!" She gasped, moving from her chair to sit on his bed. Then he was in her arms. She was holding him much like she had when he was little, kissing his forehead, rubbing her hands tenderly over his hair and down his back, crying, saying things he couldn't understand, words jumbled together and babbling like water in a brook.

He didn't mind though. In fact, it was a relief. He wrapped his arms around her, marveling at how warm she was. Maybe dead people were warm to each other. She was smaller than he was now, which was also something he didn't remember, and yet she still fit perfectly in his arms. He closed his eyes, noticing that his own face was wet with tears. He breathed in her familiar vanilla scent, the same scent he remembered as a child, and for the first time in nine years, he felt at peace. Even though he was dead, he was home. He could finally apologize to his beloved mother, do whatever it took to make up for ending her life so tragically. "I've missed you so much Mom," He whispered, his words muffled because his face was buried against her neck. "I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault."

His mom froze then, as if realizing something. Then, much to his dismay, she pulled away from him…though she didn't let him go. She only pulled away enough to meet his eyes. "You aren't dead, Luke."

Luke frowned, staring at her, unable to comprehend those words. "Of course I am." He said it matter-of-factly. "It's the only explanation."

"No, Luke," She said his name so reverently, "I never died, Son." He still stared at her. uncomprehendingly. Maybe she didn't know she was dead. Obviously, she could tell that he still didn't believe her. Gently, she took his hand, putting his fingers at her wrist. "Can you feel that, Luke?" Reluctantly, he pulled his eyes away from her face to look at their hands. Sure enough, he could feel a pulse, beating strong and true. But….dead people didn't have pulses. "Use the Force, Luke. Stretch out with your feelings. See for yourself. I'm alive, Son."

The Force. The last time he'd tried to use that, it had been suppressed because of a drug. Yet when he called upon it now, it easily responded, and he stretched out with it towards his mother and…

Yes! She was indeed alive!

His cerulean blue gaze jolted back to hers, suddenly feeling sick. She stared back with love shining in her warm brown eyes, waiting patiently for him to process this. She was alive. Memories of that horrible night rose up, swirling in his mind contradicting what he was clearly seeing for himself. She was alive. But he'd...he'd killed her! His father had tried to kill him because of that. There had been so much blood….

"Luke, listen to me. Palpatine is evil to the core. He used the Dark Side of the Force to twist your mind." His mom began to explain when Luke was unable to form the questions he desperately needed answered. "The memories you have of before you were taken from us…those aren't real. They're what Palpatine wanted you to remember, thoughts that he implanted in your mind. It's a Sith trick that could have killed you had you been any older than you were." More tears fell down his mother's face. She stroked his hair gently, and yet he couldn't feel any of it. His entire focus was on her, on what she was saying. "You are so loved, Luke. Your father and I moved to Texas to protect you and your sister. We thought Palpatine couldn't hurt you anymore there. We were wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. We let our guard down. The night you were taken, your father went to hunt down Grievous in Corpus Christi with the other Jedi. I stayed home with you, Leia, and your baby brother Hayden." She closed her eyes, as if remembering something, and then opened them again, remembered pain filling her gaze. "Asajj Ventress was the one who attacked us that night. Ventress is the one who took you away from us. Not some random guy."

Her words made sense. It was something Luke should have realized long ago. Only a Force-Sensitive could have breached the Jedi Temple's defenses, even if most of the Jedi were gone on a mission. He'd also always hated Ventress, had felt like he needed to protect himself from her whenever she was around. He'd never understood it…Until now.

His mother kept explaining. "You were just trying to protect me, Sweetie. I want you to know that neither your father or I blame you for that. Your father says he should have pushed to train you at a younger age so that you would have at least had a lightsaber…" she sighed, shaking her head. "But that's an old debate that no one can do anything about now. Anyway, after…after I was shot, I lost consciousness, but I didn't die. I won't lie to you and say that I didn't come close to death, because I did. But I didn't die." She stroked his cheek softly. "Your father didn't even get there until long after you'd been taken, but even if I had died…well, your father wouldn't have been in a good place, true, but make no mistake, Luke..." She looked him straight in the eye, with so much conviction Luke couldn't help but believe her. "Your father would never, and I mean NEVER,have hurt you. Your father loves you, has always loved you. From the moment we found out we were having you and Leia, he was loved you totally and completely. He would never have tried to kill you, Son."

There were still those memories that made Luke want to protest. He opened his mouth to do so, but…the proof was literally sitting right there before him. "We never gave up looking for you, Luke. We have searched every continent, all over the globe to try and find you and bring you home to us." His mom said softly, "And, then your father did find you down in Rio, and we didn't understand why…we didn't understand why you were so resistant and so hostile to him until Mara reached out…"

"Mara?" Luke interrupted, his mind practically whirling with the unexpected mention of Mara. Mara had contacted his parents? When? How?

His mother nodded. "She wanted to help you, but she wanted both sides of the story. She called your father's office at NASA while we were in London, and she told us she wanted to meet up, expecting to only meet up with your father, of course,…but I was also with your father, as was Uncle Ben and Leia, all of us looking for you, so I went, too. To say she was shocked to find out that I was alive is an understatement."

Yeah, no kidding. He knew the feeling.

"When she explained your side of things and how you believed I was dead and how you believed your father had tried to kill you, and how she knew you believed what you'd told her thoroughly, your father figured out what Palpatine had done to you. We were hoping that you'd come back to your…home in London so that I could show you the truth in less….stressful circumstances, but you'd already gone off on your own to Switzerland. We had to try to stop you. Mara convinced Han to help us rescue you, and your father and Uncle Ben called in all Jedi in the area available to help. We attacked the mountain base…"

He remembered now. The noises of anti-aircraft guns, the sounds of bombs going off, the power going out, the initial explosion that had destroyed the hallway…. "Well, we destroyed it really, took as many Inquisitors as possible back to our European Jedi bases to be treated and rehabilitated...And we found you when you reached out to Leia. We rushed you to the nearest Jedi Sanctuary, here in Switzerland, where Master Lily, one of Vokara's old students, was able to extract the shrapnel and get you into a Bacta tank." His mother sighed, running a hand through his hair in wonder. "Five days later, and here we are."

For a moment, they just stared at one another. Clearly, his mom was waiting for him to say something, but all he could do was just stare. Her words ran through his mind over and over again until he began to fully realize their implications. So many things that hadn't made sense before began to click into place, like puzzle pieces put together…and yet, the memories he'd believed for so long stayed firmly rooted in his brain. "You're not dead." He finally said.

His mom shook her head. "No."

"And father never tried to….to kill me."

"Force, no! We both love you very much! All we've wanted all these years is for you to come home." There was so much pain in her voice…

He simply….stared. "So, my whole remembered life," he said softly, "Has been a lie."

She didn't say anything for a long moment. "Most of it, I think. I'm not completely sure what it is you remember and what you don't. We'll have to talk through all that," She leaned forward. "That doesn't mean that you can't get those memories back. I mean….I'm not a doctor, or a Jedi, but…it might be possible, especially with a Jedi Healer who specializes in healing the mind, and if it is, and you want to remember the truth, well…I'll help however I can, Son. Because I love you."

He suddenly felt very, very sick. He'd thought Palpatine killing Talia had been enough of a betrayal, but this…he'd trusted him! At one point, he'd wanted nothing more than to please him and he…Oh Force, that man had been manipulating him for his own gain way more than Luke had realized. He had spent nine years of his life being Palpatine's puppet, his slave, and had falsely hated his father and thought his mother was dead and…all because Palpatine wished it!

The image of himself attacking his father on the rooftop in Rio entered his mind, followed by the image of him Force-choking his father in Namibia….oh Force, what had he done?!

"Luke," he felt his mother's hands on his face, forcing him to look at her. "None of this is your fault. Do you understand? You didn't know. You didn't…"

"I'm so sorry," he suddenly said, and he realized that tears were flowing freely now. "Mom, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" He couldn't stop repeating that phrase. He couldn't even begin to figure out how to express how much guilt he felt, how sickened he was to understand the implications of what had happened to him, to their family. Apologizing over and over again seemed like a good place to start, even if it was irrational.

"Luke!" his mother, his sweet, very much alive mother, said, cutting him off, "I know. None of us blame you, but also, none of us think this is going to be something that will be easy for you to heal from either. It will take time, Son." When Luke still seemed like he was on the verge of a break down (because he was), his mother sighed. "Why don't I call your father? He and Leia went to go get some food about an hour ago…Maybe it's time that we all just...figure this out together. As a family."

A stab of guilt hit him. "No!" he hastily said with conviction, startling his mom. If he didn't even know where to begin to make amends with his mother, how in the world could he possibly even begin to make amends to his father? He never did anything intentionally to his mother, but he'd literally tried to kill his father not once, but twice, not realizing that his father was just trying to bring him home. "I mean," he started when his mom looked deeply concerned for him, "Not…not yet. I just…." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Can you just…hold me for a while, please? Like you used to, Mom?"

Most parents probably would have thought it strange that their seventeen-year-old son had asked to be held, but he hadn't expected to feel her love, much less her embrace, ever again. Now he could, and with his path now clouded with confusion and uncertainty and guilt, being held by her seemed like a good place to start. His mother's expression softened. "Of course, Luke." She said, and she wrapped her arms around him again. He buried his face against her, breathing her scent in, reaching out in the Force to take comfort from her presence, and though he was still in turmoil and he knew he had a long way to go, in just that one moment he felt…soothed. Just for a little while. And, he knew Talia had been right…

It was time to go home.


Reunited! Hurray! Hopefully, you all like the chapter!

Also, since it was Thanksgiving in the United States, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you. You guys are the best. You motivate me to keep going even when it gets hard to write. Whether you post reviews or are my "lurker" readers, I am grateful for all of your support.

The songs for this chapter are: Clash of Lightsabers By John Williams (for some reason I just kind of listened to the whole Empire Strikes Back soundtrack while writing this), and Valley of the Shadow by Thomas Newman.

Review!

Love,

Sarah