The return to Diswalt was easy. Almost too easy, Luke thought. He apologized to Admiral Ackbar for his momentary lack of judgment, blaming it on exhaustion. The Admiral gladly cleared him for the strike team. Han thumped him on the back and Chewie roared his approval when Luke sprang on board just moments before the shuttle as to take off. Only Leia continued to show signs of concern, her dark gaze settling on him more often than he would like. He'd always felt a connection with Leia, but right now he could do without her acting like a big sister with an addlepated younger brother.
"I'm fine," he said to her as the planet came into view. "Don't even have a headache." Much, he thought. Wookiee fists HURT, even when punches were pulled.
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I didn't ask."
"Didn't you? I could've sworn I heard you—"
"Heads' up," Han called from the pilot seat. "We're entering atmosphere. They'll make radio contact in three, two—"
"Welcome to the Happiest Planet in the Galaxy!" a male voice chirped over the comms. "How may we make your day magical?"
"Um, Imperial Shuttle 465739 requesting permission to land," Han said. He mouthed to his passengers, "Are these beings for real?"
"Certainly! If you will input your reservation number, we will direct you to the landing bay nearest your resort destination. Our spaceport cast members will be happy to arrange the transportation of your luggage to your hotel so you can begin making family memories instantly! Press One if you did not make dining reservations and would like to make them now. Press Two if you did not receive your Magic Bracelets at your planet of residence and wish to have them delivered to your ship. Press Three—"
Han muted the comm. Then he turned to Leia. "Were they speaking Basic? Because none of that made any sense."
Luke covered his laugh with a cough. "You hailed Diswaltland Kingdom. We want Woolverton." He pointed to a dark landmass in the southern hemisphere of the planet, far from the brightly multicolored lights that covered the continent underneath them. Not too much longer now -
A presence, cold and dark, slimy with malevolence, invaded his thoughts. The whispering voices returned, louder and more insistent than before: Killer of millions your little beast is dead if you do not come at once dead dead she will die and it's your fault your fault taste your depair so sweet you will come now now she will make such a lovely corpse lips of blue skin of ice and it will be your fault your fault your fault
"Stop." Luke shut his eyes and ran through several breathing exercises taught to him by the Beast during their sparring matches. When he opened them, he discovered Han had landed the shuttle near the village.
"Luke?" Leia asked. "You've gone very pale."
He nodded. "I'll be fine." He took another cleansing breath, just to be sure.
Han poked his head into the passenger compartment. "I've got good news. I've spotted stormtroopers coming our way, so I'm guessing they're about to discover we aren't really an Imperial shuttle crew."
"That's good news?" Leia asked with a raised eyebrow.
Han shook his head. "No. The good news is they have speeder bikes, and they didn't bother to lock them up. C'mon."
"Wait," Luke said. "You remember what I told you? The generator shield is in the castle's dungeons." Thanks to the holocron, Luke finally had a comprehensive map of the castle – or as ChippCupp knew it, the former Jedi Temple. Trust Palapatine to twist and warp a building that had once served as a bastion for good in the galaxy. Just like he twisted and warped the Beast. "The dungeons put out a frequency that disrupt droids and other electronics, so Threepio, do your best to look inconspicuous."
"Oh dear," the droid moaned.
Han clapped the droid on its shoulder. "Good luck, goldenrod. Chewie, come with me. We have some bikes to liberate."
Leia stopped Luke when he would exit the shuttle. "Why did you ask if we remember your instructions about the generator? Aren't you going to be with us?" Her sharp gaze honed in on his.
Luke sighed. "Leia—"
"I knew it! I could feel it. You're going to him, aren't you. The Emperor." She folded her arms tightly against her chest and gave him a regally disappointed stare.
"I have to." He tried to push past her.
Leia's gentle hand on his arm stopped him. "But why?"
He turned to face her. "Because...there is good in the Beast. I've felt it. I can save her. At least, I have to try."
Leia huffed, but a tear sparkled in the corner of her eye. "You'll die if you go, you know."
"And she'll die I don't. Even if the Emperor spares her, Madine's orders are to kill her on sight. I can't let that happen." Luke pulled Leia to him and hugged her tight, the let her go with a smile. "See you when the shield is down," he said as he hopped out of the shuttle.
At least, he thought to himself, he hoped he would.
The battle for the Beast's castle was over in what felt like seconds. With the Emperor controlling the Beast, her servants didn't stand a chance. She could only watch in horror as the Emperor dispersed with their spirited but meager defenses in the most vicious ways possible, using the dark side of the Force to render limbs from torsos, pry weapons from fingers and turn them against their owners.
The Emperor rubbed his hands together, flashes of lightning still hovering in the air, when his grisly work was done. "Ah, just the first of the battles to be won today. Today has seen the end of your little rebellion. Soon it will see the end of the Rebel Alliance."
"No!" the Beast cried. The Emperor let go of his control of her body and she immediately knelt beside K'gworth, trying to gather as many of the scattered clockwork springs as she could. She'd rebuilt him before. She can do it again…
"It's no use," the Emperor said. "The animas are gone. Feel for yourself."
"No," she muttered. "No." But he was right. The sparks that had powered her servants – no, her friends – were gone. She felt only an abyss where once had been warm life.
Rage, deep and seething, filled her from the top of her red curls to the soles of her black leather boots. She grabbed her lightsaber. Igniting it, she sprang for the Emperor, her blade aimed as his throat.
The Emperor held her in stasis mid-leap. "Excellent," he cackled. "I can feel your anger. Give into it, little Beast."
"Hate you," she said as best she could through frozen lips. The rest of her seethed with red hate fury. It started deep in her chest, then spread until her limbs ached with it.
"Yes, yes," the Emperor crooned. "Let the dark side in. Let it control you once more."
"Hate you," the Beast snarled again. Her arms ached to stab her weapon through his non-existent heart. And the only way she would be strong enough to do it would if she used the Force-
"The dark side," the Emperor said, a grin stretching gruesomely across his sunken face. "Yes. Use it."
"I will, you monste-" She reached for the dark side. It flooded her senses, awakening them to more power than she'd ever harnessed before. More power to… "You…Master," she finished, bowing her head.
The Emperor let her go. She knelt before him. "Let me see your face, little one," he said, using a wizened finger to lift her chin up. "Ah, good. It seems the spell is not broken after all, and never will be. But then, yellow is such a pretty color on you, my dear. "
"Yes, Master," she said, returning her gaze to the floor.
"And now," the Emperor said, "my new Lord of the Beasts is almost here. I believe the North Tower will give us the best view of his approach."
The Beast raised her head. "A new Lord of the Beasts?"
"You didn't think it was going to be you, did you? While you are strong in the Force, he is unequaled. I will have such fun adding him to my menagerie. All thanks to you, my pet Beast. You played the role I devised for you perfectly."
Every word the Emperor spoke made her hate him more, yet bound her more tightly to him through the dark side. She followed behind her Master as he climbed the stairs to await his prize in the North Tower.