The showdown is here! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Side note, I finally made a cover art thing for this story (bit late I know lol!), which is on my tumblr if anyone is interested in that. My username is the same as on here! Ok, let's read...

Luke pressed his face against the transparisteel window of the cargo hold, unable to believe the sheer vastness of the glittering city planet below him. The Force was teeming with what felt like billions of lifeforms. There were criss-crossing lines of horizontal traffic zipping across the sky: air speeders, ships, taxis, transports and flying droids of every type imaginable!

He almost got whiplash trying to gawk at a passing jet red sports speeder, the type of model he doubted anyone on whole of Bakura would've ever seen, let alone been able to afford.

"This is wizard," he whispered half to himself, and half to Artoo who was looking out at the view beside him.

When the ship landed, Luke waited until all sounds of activity had died down and Artoo's scans showed no lifeforms nearby. Heading outside warily, he stretched his legs and breathed in a fresh lungful of air after enduring such a long and cold journey in hyperspace.

The ship was docked on a large landing pad that was full of other vessels Luke recognised from Dantooine. The platform was attached to the side of a ginormous building, bigger than anything Luke had ever seen in his life. Craning his neck, he could see five giant spires at the top that pierced the sky, and the front was decorated with red imperial banners which were far too heavy to move in the breeze that ruffled Luke's hair.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, he sprinted over to the railings and leaned over them to get a look at the city below. With his mouth agape, he realised just how high up they were. The skyscrapers stretched down into infinity, creating a dense cross hatching of buildings, bridges and walkways that looked so complex, Luke wondered if anybody got lost on a daily basis. He certainly would if he lived here.

It was so utterly different from anywhere he'd ever been, and it was overwhelming. Feeling dizzy, he looked away. Was this really where his parents used to live? Where they used to go to work? Feeling suddenly very small and insignificant, he was brought out of his thoughts by Artoo, who was beeping at him and nudging his leg.

"Do you know this place Artoo?"

He whistled affirmatively. Luke was about to reply when he heard an explosion from the palace. Something was kicking off in there, and he had to hurry.

"Then I guess you'll know where we need to go," he said. "Lead the way."

The astromech rolled off quickly, and Luke jogged after him. Thankfully, the security checkpoints on Artoo's route had all been blasted to pieces, and the two of them followed a trail of destruction, bodies and scorch marks. Luke tried not to look at the fallen as he travelled past.

They continued on through endless flashing red corridors and sped upwards in turbo lifts that blared with alarm sirens. They had to hide several times when squadrons of stormtroopers ran past, heading towards the fight.

When they reached their destination outside what used to be a set of doors, but now was a rubbly hole in the wall, Luke ran inside before he could lose his courage and hid behind a pillar. Peeking out from the shadows, he took in the huge throne room that was filled with the overwhelming sights, smells and sounds of battle.

He thought he was prepared after seeing his father and Master Windu fighting the troopers at Arkanis when he and Leia had been rescued, but this was a hundred times more violent, and it was so loud. Luke covered his young ears and watched as so many humans and aliens fought desperately for their lives, all shouting and firing, barking orders to their team mates and screaming horrifically when shot. Somewhere in the fray he heard the distinctive fizzing clash of lightsabers. The noise was defeating and Luke felt very frightened, especially when there were screams of pain or a stray bolt ricocheted off the wall near him.

Trying to be brave, he swallowed hard and continued to look around to see where his fathers were, but he had no luck. Sections of the wall and supporting pillars around the room had been detonated, and there were piles of rubble and clouds of dust everywhere. Red, blue and green bolts of laser fire were lighting up the clouds, making everything look even more confusing and chaotic.

"I can't see anyone Artoo," he said, his hands still over his ears.

Deciding to trust in the Force, he closed his eyes and with some difficulty, let his fear subside enough to sense the Force signatures of Vader and his dad. They were at the far end of the throne room, engaged in intense combat. They were both too preoccupied to notice his presence however, and he was relived. Somehow, he had to get over there without dying in the process.

Unclipping Anakin's lightsaber from his utility belt, he gripped the hilt with trembling hands. Standing up, he took a deep breath and ended up coughing as smoke entered his lungs.

Artoo beeped nervously, nudging his leg as if to say 'this is a bad idea!'

"The Force is telling me I have to do this," he coughed, half to tell Artoo, and half to convince himself.

The astromech whistled dubiously.

"Just stay here and don't get hurt okay? I don't want you injured."

The droid beeped something which sounded disobedient, and Luke gathered that he would loyally follow him regardless of any orders. He was quickly coming to realise that's just who the plucky little droid was.

"Well, you can follow me if you want, just keep yourself safe. It's going to be very dangerous out there. Are you ready?"

Artoo beeped, his indicators flashing from red to blue. Looking for an opening, Luke left the safety of the pillar and ran for it, his droid faithfully following.

Running, dodging and hiding behind whatever he could find, Luke stuck to the edge of the room, getting closer and closer to where he could feel the presence of not just his fathers, but the other Jedi and the Emperor as well.

When he hid behind a statue of the Emperor, he peered out to see where to run to next, but he stilled at the sight he saw. To his utter amazement, one of the rebels firing her blaster in the chaos of the room was his mother.

She was bringing down enemy after enemy, shooting laser bolts in quick succession with deadly accuracy. Hera was at her back, as well as the Naboo security forces he recognised from Dantooine. Luke's mouth fell open for the second time that day. Since when could his mother fire a blaster like that? Her hair was falling from its plait, and there was a fearsome glint in her eyes. Luke couldn't deny that she looked like someone cool enough to be an action figure. Just wait until Leia heard about this!

The Force flared in warning and Luke looked away, only to see a thermal detonator had rolled onto the floor nearby and was beeping fast. Everyone around scrambled for cover and Luke managed to run a few paces before the force of the explosion threw him forward onto his stomach and he hit the floor, hard, Anakin's saber hilt falling from his grip. Winded, and with the force of the detonation reverberating in his lungs, he raised his arms as shrapnel and chunks of rubble rained down over him, but he managed to push the worst of them away with the Force.

Using what his dad called 'Jedi reflexes' Luke was able to sense the imminent collapse of the statue behind him, and rolled to the side as it came crashing down, pushing Artoo out of the way with the Force as he did so. The larger-than-life stone Emperor disintegrated as it collided against the flagstone floor, echoing with a deafening crash.

Despite his use of the Force, Luke felt several chunks of the statue hit him in the back and he winced, trying not to cry from the battering. There would be some nasty bruises forming there for sure. He rose up on his elbows to look around desperately in search of his mother, hoping she hadn't been caught in the detonation. His ears were ringing and he squinted through the dusty air.

Thankfully, he could see her some distance away amidst the swarms of fighters, still firing her blaster like she'd been in such intense and brutal battles many times before.

Struggling upright before she caught sight of him and fighting off waves of dizziness, Luke limped off with Anakin's saber as quickly as he could with Artoo in tow, who was beeping incessantly and worrying worse than Threepio. Luke knew that if he could understand the droid, he'd probably be hearing all the best swear words from across the galaxy. With shaking legs and a tightness in his chest, he ran up the first flight of stairs he found and fell behind a crate in desperation to escape ricocheting laser bolts.

Peeking out again, Luke saw the smoke had thinned out a fraction, and he could pick up the blurred colours of lightsabers through the smoky chaos. At the top of the throne room under a huge arched window, he could make out purple, blue, green and red blades, all swirling and clashing against each other at great speed.

Persevering onward across the platform to reach them, he darted forwards, trying to avoid detection by the rebels, troopers, officers and droids that were shooting and blowing each other up all around him. He activated his father's lightsaber and managed to deflect a few bolts that came his way, though he wasn't entirely accurate with where they bounced off to.

Tripping up the next flight of steps, Luke hissed in a breath as a man, shot through the chest, screamed and fell down the stairs a hair's breadth away from him. Jumping out of the way, his foot caught on the body of a dead Trandoshan and he fell forward again. He looked back and wished he hadn't. The body he'd tripped over had been sliced in two by a lightsaber and was still smoking.

Feeling sick and more than a little dizzy, he crawled to the side of the stairway and tried to hide in the shadows to regain his breath, retracting his lightsaber. Artoo caught up with him and whistled, rocking side to side.

"Almost there now," Luke reassured him, rubbing at his forehead and trying to see where to go next.

Luke was much closer to the top of the throne room now, and he stilled when he caught sight of blades fizzing and clashing against each other at unbelievable speed. A real Jedi versus Sith battle was playing out before his eyes, and he couldn't look away.

He'd never seen adults move so fast in his life. The Emperor, who looked at least a few hundred years old, was jumping and dodging the ruthless advances of his adversaries with the speed of a youngling.

In absolute awe, he watched as his second father, Lord Vader, along with Master Windu, pushed a relentless attack against the Emperor. Vader was flowing with the power of the Dark Side, and as terrifying as it was to see him swinging his blade and using the Force with such ferocity and brute strength, it was mesmerising. Luke was reminded of how fearful he was when Vader had first appeared to him and Leia on Tatooine. The Emperor must be scared stiff, even if he wasn't showing it.

There was a buzzing green mosquito moving between the fighters with such speed and agility that Luke was confused. What was that? Then his mouth fell open for a third time that day. Grand Master Yoda. Dad had been right not to judge by appearance.

Dad.

Luke looked about for him, wondering why he wasn't fighting besides Vader, and saw him a little way off on the platform below, duelling with a red guard who was wielding a long glowing pike, crackling with dark energy. The two of them were engaged in close combat, fighting with small, quick well-angled strikes. Luke watched with white knuckles as they fought, but he soon realised his father was the better fighter.

Seeing him against the stormtroopers on Arkanis when he rescued him and Leia was nothing compared to this. His father was moving with such grace and dexterity, angling his blade and moving his body to perfectly parry the guard in a way he could only dream of doing. The Light side of the Force emanated from him with every movement, and he shone with confidence, demonstrating the finest swordsmanship Luke had ever seen.

Looking back at where Lord Vader was fighting, he wondered how strong the Emperor must be to have fought off all these attackers simultaneously for so long. Not only was he fighting them off using his lightsaber, but he was also levitating chunks of rock to throw at them too and Force pushing them. He was moving so fast, spinning and parrying so precisely, that Luke could barely keep track of him.

The Force was urging him forward again, as if a clock was running out of time. But how was he even meant to help Vader defeat the Emperor? Now that he was here, he felt so fearful and useless. What could he possibly do? He could barely deflect a laser bolt, let alone a Sith's lightsaber.

But the Force was insistent. It felt right to follow its will, even though Luke was intensely afraid.

Gathering his courage like he had in Watto's shop to defend Leia, he ignited Anakin's blue glowing blade and tightened his grip. He stood up and ran full speed ahead, dodging blaster bolts and deflecting them in random directions as he went.

Just when he was only one flight of stairs away, a stormtrooper grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him aside. Struggling against his grip, Luke realised he'd just been saved from an impalement when he saw the vibro-edged head of a Force pike stuck in the ground where he'd been standing. Mouth hanging open, he watched, frozen, as the trooper who'd just saved his life tried to fire at the pike-wielding guard, but was instantly killed. Confused, Luke realised the soldier was one of Vader's 501st troopers that he'd heard about. The soldier must've recognised him from his days aboard the star destroyer.

Trembling and looking up into a sleek red mask, he thought it was all over, but the Force kept him safe yet again, and he was saved by a Jedi. Caleb also grabbed him by the collar and lifted him out of harm's way, striking his blue lightsaber against the red guard's pike before it could touch him.

"Luke! What in the galaxy are you doing here?!" he sounded furious.

Luke couldn't find his voice.

The guard nearly stabbed Caleb and the young man dodged, keeping Luke behind him at all times. "Leave now! Get out of here!"

"No! I have to help him!" Luke shouted over the noise, racing off up the final flight of stairs. His dad was nearby, but was still fighting the same guard and was too distracted to see him. The Force seemed to be urging him on now, telling him over and over to get to his second father quickly before time ran out.

Closer…closer…

Jumping over the fallen and clumsily deflecting blaster fire up the stairs, he finally reached the highest point of the room where the Jedi were battling. His hands were so sweaty he was scared he'd drop the lightsaber on his own feet, and his heart was pumping so hard it hurt.

"Luke!"

His father, Obi-Wan, had spotted him. But Luke didn't even turn around, he was held in a trance. The Force was so insistent now, so loud in his mind, urging him forward.

Closer…

Luke's eyes were trained on Vader, who was aggressively slashing his lightsaber against the Emperor's. He went forward, Anakin's saber at the ready.

Then, everything happened quickly.

A pair of blazing yellow eyes pinpointed him, glowing in the haze. They seemed to burn right through him, and Luke stopped in his tracks, looking up to meet the Emperor's terrible gaze. There was no attempt at kindness there like in their first meeting. Now, there was only malice, and an intent to hurt him as much as possible.

He felt the lightning before he saw it, piercing his chest with an unimaginable amount of pain. Someone was screaming, and he heard his name being called. He felt himself spasming and falling to the floor, every nerve in his body frying as his breath was stolen from his chest.

ooooo

Obi-Wan finally defeated the red guard who had been extremely difficult to bring down, defending Mace, Yoda and Vader whilst they duelled Darth Sidious. The Sith was proving a challenge to defeat, but gradually they'd worn him down, making sure he couldn't call any of his guards over to help him. Obi-Wan suspected he wouldn't last much longer.

Seeing Caleb struggling with a red guard nearby, he raced over to help his friend and battered the enemy in the back of the knees, taking him by surprise.

"Luke is here!" Caleb shouted as he blocked the guard's incoming Force pike and avoided getting his feet kicked out from under him.

Over all the noise in the throne room and the explosions both inside and outside with the naval mutiny, Obi-Wan thought he'd misheard him. Elbowing the guard powerfully in the chest and moving with Caleb in unison, they fought the guard until he showed a fatal opening, and Obi-Wan managed to strike him down.

"Luke is here," the young man repeated hastily, wiping some blood from his lip and catching his breath. He pointed over his shoulder.

Frowning, Obi-Wan scanned the room, unwilling to believe Caleb. He must've hit his head.

But then his jaw went slack. There was a small blonde boy holding a blue lightsaber at the top of the stairs, getting closer and closer to where the Emperor was fighting Mace, Yoda and Vader simultaneously. None of them had noticed him.

Before he could even think, Obi-Wan was running, his stomach lurching and his limbs as thick as water as he sprinted towards him with nightmarish slowness, shouting his name as loud as he could.

"Luke!"

The boy didn't turn at the sound of his name. He had to get him away before the Emperor laid eyes on him. Sidious was moments away from death, and wouldn't hesitate to kill the boy as a last act of spite.

How did Luke even manage to follow them here without him noticing? How had he let this happen? Where were the girls?

A horizontal Force pike appeared in his line of vision, knocking him back with a powerful shock to his head. The guard was blocking his path. Seething with frustration, Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber against him and was immediately parried backwards. A desperate high stakes fight began, and Obi-Wan could feel his strength waning.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Caleb running to rescue Luke, but he too was also held back, blocked by an imperial guard determined to kill, and he was battling viciously to get free. The red guards were highly skilled fighters, the best in the galaxy, and defeating one was not easy, even for a Jedi Master like himself.

Artoo had appeared at the bottom of the stairs but was stunned by a palace storm trooper running past. Vader, Mace and Yoda were so focused on defeating Sidious, they hadn't even noticed him. Obi-Wan considered calling for Padmé, but she would never hear him over the clamour in the room.

It was only seconds now until the Emperor saw him.

There was no one coming to Luke's aid.

This was it.

Taking advantage of his panicked and distracted state, the guard wrenched his arm backward until it cracked, and Obi-Wan's old bicep wound reopened, his muscle ripping apart where Vader had sliced it open a month prior. Screaming in pain, he didn't let it hinder him. Fighting on doggedly with one arm, he ignored the dislocated appendage now hanging from his side. His focus on saving Luke somehow made his own health seem inconsequential.

But then, a ripple of crackles and a gargled scream caught his entire attention.

Luke spasmed, his whole body alight with Force lightning. The top of the throne room lit up in flicking blue light. The strength of his boy's screams made Obi-Wan's heart stop.

"Luke! NO!" Obi-Wan cried helplessly in disbelief, pushing against the guard who offered no sympathy.

The Emperor's evil truly knew no bounds. In a final act of spite, he was electrocuting an innocent child, knowing Luke's death would destroy Vader and himself.

But then, something incredible happened.

Vader, who had turned at the sound of the boy's screams, only had to watch for a few stunned moments, before he quickly jumped out in front of the lightning, taking it all into his mechanical body.

Anakin's skeleton within became momentarily visible in terrible flashes of electric blue energy. His whole being was spasming and crackling from the volatile power of the Dark Side, his life support suit short circuited and surged. Obi-Wan couldn't tear his eyes away from the horrifying scene as Qui-Gon's prophecy rang through in his ears. His master had been right all along. The children had been right. Padmé had been right.

Anakin's lightsaber fell from his gloved hand and his knees gave out, but still, he fell in such a way that protected Luke from the Emperor's gaze, his black cloak concealing him.

Sidious was battling with one hand now, his energy divided and his mind distracted. Anakin had created the opportunity for the final assault, and Obi-Wan watched with an open mouth as Master Yoda finally found an opening in the Emperor's previously watertight defences. He delivered a powerful slice to the neck and decapitated him.

Sidious's severed head fell to the floor and rolled towards him, his mouth agape.

The Force seemed to sing as it shifted back into balance. In a harmonious moment only those who were Force sensitive could sense, the Dark Side's shroud lifted from the galaxy. There was still dark, and there was still light, but now they were balanced, neither side too powerful, neither side too weak.

Seeing the Emperor was no more, Anakin collapsed sideways, the heaviness of his suit bringing him down to the ground quickly. He was shuddering and twitching, blue sparks fluttering across his body.

Luke scrambled over to him on quivering limbs, trying to wake him desperately.

The red guard, who'd turned to see his Emperor's head roll across the floor only a few paces away from them, met a quick end thanks to Yoda, who had come to his aid.

Rushing to Luke with Yoda as Mace went to help Caleb, his heart broke at the sight of how small Luke was besides the prone body. He was on his knees trying to wake him up, and Obi-Wan could sense Luke was also speaking to him through the Force, trying to get him to move.

"Luke, come," Obi-Wan tried to ease the boy away but Luke fought him off, clutching at the material of Anakin's suit and trying to rouse the man with no effect.

"Father, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here…" Luke's shock had turned to sobs, and hot tears quickly began to fall, leaving trails on his dusty cheeks. "I'm sorry…"

"Luke," Obi-Wan tried to move him off again, but Luke was unwilling to be parted from him, and fought off his grip easily since he only had one arm to use.

"We will get him to a medcentre," Obi-Wan said to Yoda, still reeling from what had occurred. The Grand Master nodded and Obi-Wan called for immediate assistance on his comm.

Master Yoda looked at the scene with a peaceful expression on his face. "Gone Darth Vader finally is, and triumphant, Anakin Skywalker has become."

Obi-Wan looked down at Luke, who'd draped himself over the body of the man who'd saved his life. He was sobbing, apologising over and over, and Obi-Wan felt useless to help him.

Standing shakily, he looked around and was relieved to see the battle had begun to subside after the death of the Emperor. He could see arms being raised in surrender, and to his relief, his wife was running up the stairs toward him with troopers behind her, a hover stretcher in tow. Padmé looked dishevelled, bruised and dusty but otherwise safe.

Running to hug him, he winced and she noticed his arm. Before she could ask, she noticed Luke. Shock, anger, worry and sympathy passed over her face in quick succession. Her brown eyes met his in a silent question, but he had no answer to give her. Seeing this, she moved away and quicky sat by his side on the floor, trying to hold back the struggling child as members of the 501st tried to lift Anakin's body away.

"Luke, sweetheart you have to let him go, he needs to get to the medcentre," she soothed him softly even though he was resisting.

"I didn't mean it mom, I'm so sorry," he eased back and clutched at her instead so the stormtroopers could lift his body away. Luke wrapped his arms around his mother's neck like a lifeline and cried against her chest.

"It's alright, it's alright," she held him tightly, her hand on the back of his blonde head. Obi-Wan walked forward, placing his hand on top of her head and stroking her hair. They were all in one piece. Whatever happened next, at least they were all alive.

The three of them watched as the troopers began to head back down the length of the throne room. In an extraordinary state of truce, the 501st and the rebel alliance parted as Anakin Skywalker was carried off to the medcentre. The battle had been won, but what happened now was the will of the Force.