A few hours later, Luke came out of his healing trance when he felt a slight tingling sensation on his cheeks. It turned out to be an invisible hand lightly slapping his face. "Uh?" he groggily murmured.
Then the pain hit.
He screamed.
"Your trance time is over, Son." Vader masked all feelings of regret (for willingly forcing his only son to suffer) and pity (of Luke's bad condition, which was caused mainly by Vader himself) with the Force. It wouldn't do to have the Emperor or Luke to know how reluctant Darth Vader really was at carrying out the orders he was given.
Luke's hearing was partially impaired by the last roar that the Deh'th'tu'thouw had given out, but he caught the gist of what his father said. Teeth gritted, Luke desperately asked, "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"We will, once you have turned," Vader told him.
"I...can't." Luke's will wasn't broken yet.
"Jade, you try to convince him," Vader suggested. And if you dare do more damage to my son than is necessary, I won't be responsible for the consequences...
Luke glanced at Mara suspiciously, and she seemed shocked at the idea of causing Luke pain. She began to protest, "But I don't want—"
"Do it." Vader's tone left no room for argument.
Mara glanced at Luke apologetically, and he merely gave her a look that was somewhere between anger and helplessness. He closed his eyes and slowly used the Force to pull his consciousness back into the depths of his mind, a serene look on his face since most of the pain was now barely felt. He had only a vague awareness of his surroundings.
At a nod from Vader, the Emperor's Hand took a deep breath, then she gave Luke a sharp kick in the side.
She poised to do so again but paused as her conscience overcame her, and, with a sigh, she lowered her foot back down to the floor.
Mara could feel Vader's masked eyes boring into her questioningly, and, behind a strong Force shield that hid their conversation from Luke, she communicated with him. This is not going to work.
How so? he asked, surprised that the Emperor's Hand hadn't unquestioningly followed orders as was typical of her.
Don't you understand? Pain is a physical problem. Joining the Dark Side is a mental decision.
Luke's father saw the wisdom in her statement, but he wasn't quite sure how to act on it. What do you propose that I do?
Just talk to him! Mara told him exasperatedly. It was the sensible thing to do.
Luke was gradually withdrawing from his protective shell, distantly noticing their idleness.
Vader's mechanical breathing echoed throughout the room as Luke gained back his complete consciousness and his hearing slowly improved.
"Leave us, Jade," Vader ordered.
Mara nodded, bowed slightly, and left the two alone in the cell. She hoped this worked. Even though she had adopted a harsh attitude when she was around the captive Jedi, she didn't want Luke to go through any more pain. Despite their differences, she couldn't help but have qualms about his suffering. It was a weakness she should probably correct, but for the moment she would let it be. It had been too long since she'd last cared for someone's well-being, excluding the Emperor's...
"What are you gonna do? Torture me again?" Luke snarled at his father. He really wanted the pain to come to an end, but he would have taken ten times that of what he was feeling if he could only see Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids one last time...under better circumstances, of course.
When he had willingly gone to his father, he hadn't expected things to turn out the way they had. Everything was going wrong, and careening out of his control, as if events had been slightly altered and this was not the way it was supposed to turn out.
Vader didn't answer with words. He reached down for Luke's lightsaber and took it off his belt. He threw it lightly to its owner, who caught it unsurely, and then he took his own ruby saber into his dark gloved hands.
Luke Skywalker looked down at the saber handle, gingerly turning the cool metal around in his hands as he inspected it. If he tried hard enough and ignored the great pain in his arms and legs, he could strike Darth Vader down, he knew. But to do so he would have to give into the Dark Side...
And yet, if he did resort to such a drastic measure, then he might be able to escape from his father's wretched flagship and go to his friends, who were probably worried about him...
...Most likely leading Palpatine to them in the process.
Luke sighed, wincing at the pain that the slight movement caused him. To give into the Dark Side in any way, shape, or form was to give it at least some control over his life, and doing so would haunt him forever.
No, he couldn't give in. He needed to forge his will into durasteel in spite of the pain that plagued him. But perhaps there was another option available to him...
He threw the saber to the ground in finality. "I will not fight you, father. And you'll be forced to kill me."
Darth Vader knew that his son didn't want to die and was throwing down his weapon because he felt like he was left with no other choice. He warned the boy, "You are unwise to lower your defenses." That piece of advice was a good life lesson if only his son would heed it.
Luke shook his head minutely, staring at Darth Vader with decisiveness. He gave a confident grin that didn't convince the Sith Lord of its sincerity one bit. "Death will be my final adventure. Who am I to stop it?"
This caused Vader to pause. Surely the boy wasn't inviting Death to his doorstep with Vader at its side...But if he must murder his son...
Luke felt Vader's hesitation and decided to turn it on him. "Your thoughts betray you, Father. You can't bring yourself to kill me...I am your son. The Light still lurks deep within you; you know it does. You must let it dispel the Dark from your soul...Father, it is your last hope..."
His son's desperate plea hit a little too close to home for Vader's taste. The Sith Lord's thoughts were spiraling out of control, and he tried to seek a way out. He reached out and lightly touched Luke's mind, sensing something there that he couldn't quite put his finger on...
"Give in to the Dark Side, Luke, and we will leave your companions alone..." Silence. "Your feelings for them are strong..." There was a nagging feeling at the back of Vader's mind...like he had figured out most of a puzzle that he hadn't known he'd been working on and only had a few pieces left to fit together. He continued on with his gut instinct, "Especially for..." Everything abruptly slid into place. "...Your sister...So, you have a twin sister..." This was indeed a quite a discovery...Perhaps she would be Luke's final breaking point...
"Your feelings have now betrayed her too." Behind his mask, Darth Vader frowned in contempt at the thought of his traitor of a teacher hiding his two children from him. He had a right to be told that his beloved Padmè had actually— No! He mustn't think about her. He forced the painful thoughts about his deceased wife to the back corners of his mind. She was dead, killed by that traitorous Kenobi. No amount of hoping would bring her back.
Slightly surprised that he hadn't thought of using Luke's companions against him before, Vader continued, "Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me, but now his failure is complete...If you won't turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will."
"No!" Within a second, Luke had jumped up to both feet, ignoring his shattered ankle and other various pains, switched on his lightsaber, and pointed the blade at Darth Vader's throat. With a strained, ragged voice that enunciated each word strenuously, Luke ordered, "Leave her alone!"
Vader tilted his helmeted head slightly, looking down at the green lightsaber that was held threateningly close to his neck. Perhaps it was his destiny to die now. Maybe he would finally be released from this tortured body into the endless void that was the Force. He raised his head up high. "Do it, Luke."
Luke was on the verge of slicing the deadly weapon through his father's neck, but there was some barely perceptible hesitation in his manner.
"Join us, and your sister will live. Kill me now, and refuse to join the Dark Side, and Palpatine will hunt down your sister, and she will die an excruciating death." Vader knew this was a bit of a gamble. The Emperor didn't know Luke's sister's name, and simply the threat of her dying might cause Luke to slit Vader's throat without a second thought.
Luke's hand shook in indecision. He didn't want to kill his father, didn't want his sister to die, and didn't want to join the Dark Side. He raised confused eyes up to his father. "What would happen if I didn't kill you but refused to join the Dark Side?"
"I would find your sister, and she would not have a moment's rest until you turned."
Luke looked down at his lightsaber, the green light reflected in his eyes, mingling with his fear and anger. "What if I turned this on me?"
He removed the saber from its spot hovering beneath Vader's chin and placed the beam of light right in front of his heart.
Vader could feel the rise of fear in his chest. Surely his son wouldn't commit suicide. "I would find and turn your sister, and together we would avenge your death on the Rebel Alliance."
The now strangely calm Jedi brought the lightsaber slowly closer to his heart, looking at Vader with a hard gaze as he did so. Death would bring an end to all decision-making...
This was a crucial moment, Vader knew. The words he said now could affect the rest of their lives...Or could end them now. "The only way to save your sister and companions is to turn, Luke. Kill one of us, and they shall be killed as a result."
Luke's hand trembled, as his sereneness began to evaporate. "But if I turn, you will force me to kill them." His eyes shifted from side to side in a frenzy.
Vader shook his head, "If you become a Dark Jedi, we will first finish your training. It is true that you will have to help us exterminate any remaining Jedi Knights as well as help squash rebellions. But you do not have to kill your companions if you can get them out of the way and still accomplish your mission."
"If I can get them out of the way?" Luke raised an eyebrow. Didn't look like much of a deal to him.
"We won't make you kill your companions, Son."
Luke's thumb twitched on the trigger switch, and several emotions passed across his face. Fear, anger, loss, love...
Darth Vader hated to see his son look so helpless.
It was a hardened Luke that finally lifted his head to stare his father in his helmeted face. Chin jutted out in defeat, he conceded, "I will join you, Father."
The Sith Lord smiled beneath his mask and placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "You have made a wise decision, my son."