**2**

A few days Later

Endor, Imperial Base

"This is a Rebel that surrendered to us. Although he denies it, I believe there may be more  of them, and I request permission to conduct a further search of the area." The imperial officer explained showing the young Jedi to the Dark Lord.

"He was armed only with this."

Vader once again looked suspiciously at his son and took the lightsaber from the commander's hand.

"Good work, Commander. Leave us. Conduct your search and bring his companions to me."

"Yes, my Lord." The officer bowed and left.

Lord Vader and his son stood alone, the sounds of the forest surrounding them.

"The Emperor has been expecting you." He declared after the initial silence and Luke felt his handcuffs fall to the ground. At first he was surprised, but then again he realized that it was his father's way to show him that he was superior to him. In a way it enraged Luke that his father didn't consider him a threat.

"I know… father." It was hard for Luke to say these words for the first time. To say them made them more real and he was still afraid of the Sith's reaction.

Did he care about his son? Or did he care at all?

"So, you have accepted the truth?" Vader asked simply.

"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father." Luke snapped. He couldn't, neither wanted to accept, that he was the child of Darth Vader …or any other Sith Lord. He was Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker. 

Vader felt his son's inner trouble. He was reaching for a reason to flee his legacy. Vader turned around, now facing the youth. He should tell him the truth now. Tell him that Anakin Skywalker was dead and buried. The naive believes of this son made him almost weak. Almost. Luke had to face the cruelty of reality soon.

"That name no longer has any meaning for me." He said in voice that wouldn't tolerate any doubts.

"But it's…" Luke's desperate try to communicate with his father, to make him see the light again, was suddenly interrupted by a comlink beep. Luke watched his father walk to the next com. Station.

"Vader."

An officer in green appeared on the screen.

"My Lord, Sir. We found another Rebel. Identity confirmed as Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. She says that she held important information about the Rebel Alliance, but she demands to speak to Skywalker." Vader turned around and watched his son pale. It seemed like this wasn't a part of his plan.

"Bring the princess up here." He ordered dryly.

"As you wish, My Lord." The contact was ended and the Dark Lord looked down from Luke to the lightsaber in his own black-gloved hand.

"She's an interesting person don't you think?" Now the Sith saw the turmoil and despair in Luke's eyes grow every second the princess was coming closer to their position. He had found his son's weak spot. No doubt about that. 

The door opened and Leia was brought in, escorted by four stormtroopers.

"Luke!" she screamed and ran toward him the second they let go of her.

"Leia!" He threw his arms around her but pushed her away hard in the next minute.

"What are you doing here!!" He asked furiously holding his sister at arm's length, her hands still chained behind her back.

"Oh Luke, I couldn't let you go alone. Luke you must believe me I…"

"What a heartbreaking reunion." Luke heard his father.

Heartbreaking reunion? You have know idea, father. Luke couldn't help it. The young Jedi couldn't see his father's face through the mask but he was sure he was puzzled by this slipped piece of information. Like some devilish secret you become aware of but still didn't know it's meaning.  

"Let her go." Through the force Luke put all his will in this plea and tried Vader to follow it, but the Dark Lord seemed to be nothing but amused about it.

Did you just try to use the force to play a trick on the mind of a Sith Lord?

Vader shock his head and looked once again at Luke's lightsaber.

"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber." He ignited it and held it to examine its humming,

brilliant blade, then stopped at Leia's throat.

"Your skills are complete. Indeed, you are  powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen..."

Leia stared at the green blade, sweat pearls rolling down her forehead as she stared into the black eyes of her worst nightmare. 

"Father…" Luke could almost feel the tension in the room like it was physical.

"You have a very strong connection to her, my son. I can feel it." Vader smiled at Luke panicked. Maybe he wouldn't need the emperor to break him at all. 

"Stop it!" Luke screamed and reached for his father's saber in return. It was activated immediately and green light meet red. 

"Is this the superior way of the Jedi?" Vader asked sarcastically and Luke felt his words like an iron fist in his stomach. He'd done it again. It was like in the cave on Dagobah. He was the one attacking his father, the one who had raised his saber. For the third time…

Luke saw the deadly blade come up, but instead of defending himself, he  deactivated Vader's lightsaber and let it fall to the ground.

"Luke, no!" He heard his sister scream and pushed her back against the wall. The young Jedi closed his eyes and waited for the laser blade to cut through flesh but it didn't. Slowly he opened his eyes again and scanned the room finding his father infront of him handing him his own sword.

"Obi-Wan once thought as you do. He didn't have the luck you did." Luke remembered the sense of the Death Star and Obi-Wan's death but didn't grab for his lightsaber. 

"I will not change sides...and you'll be forced to kill me."

Deadly silence filled the room. "I don't want to. But if that is your destiny."

"Search your feelings, father. You know you can't do this. You couldn't bring yourself to kill me at Bespin nor could you do it just 2 minutes ago. And that's also the reason why you won't bring me to the Emperor."

Vader laid both of his hand on Luke's shoulder.

"Luke…don't you understand? Come with me, now! And I will spare you the way to his majesty. It's the only way."

Blue eyes met blue. [A/N: I know Vader's eyes are black. But Anakin's are blue ;o)]

"Never."

"You don't know the power of the Dark Side…"

Luke nodded and looked to the door leading to the Emperor's throne room and then back to his unconscious sister laying at the floor.

"Promise me to make sure that the princess is safe."

"Why should I care?" the metal voice halled through the corridor.

"Because if I die she'll be the only one left of your bloodline and I would never forgive you, if something happened to her." Luke opened his mind to his father to show him what Ben had told him earlier.

"That's impossible." The Dark Lord said and looked over at Leia again. "I've never felt her, through the Force. If she'd been mine I would've…"

But an inner voice stopped him, talking quietly inside his head: Oh your Lordship, you always gave yourself a lot of credit, didn't you? Amidala was force-blind. The thought that your children could be as well never came to you, because you are THE CHOSEN ONE after all. God, she looks so much like her mother. And you… Vader pushed the sudden guilt of tutoring her away and walked over to the rebel princess, probing her mind to find that his son was right: Leia Organa, Bail Organa's daughter, well adopted daughter, was his child. Luke's twin sister.