Chapter 4 – Exegol

Author's Note: This fic is eight chapters, so we're half done now. :')

Also, I regret nothing. ;)

~ Amina Gila

The first thing that hits Luke when he flies down through the atmosphere is how strongly the place feels of the Dark Side. Thick dark clouds cover the sky as far as he can see, lightning crackling between them. The atmosphere is extremely electrical, so he has to fly carefully to avoid being hit.

The Dark Side is calling to him more strongly than ever, and he doesn't know how to pull back from it. Doesn't have the strength to try. Doesn't even care to.

A strange nervousness suddenly twists inside of him, as he lands the shuttle where he was directed. This place is... not abandoned. There's signs of life here, of ships and such, though he didn't stop to look closely.

It's not a surprise, after all. A Darksider or whatever he is, is living here, after all. He has no idea who this is or who he's about to meet, but none of his experiences with meeting Sith or Force users at all really have been very pleasant, so yes, he's wary. They've been helping him, but...

He's silently grateful for the feel of his lightsaber as he moves warily through the building, into where the voice told him to go. They give him a couple more directions – it seriously begins to make him wonder why they aren't just coming out here to talk to him themselves – before he finally reaches a door.

The presence behind the door feels... familiar. Where did he feel that before?

Hesitantly he pushes it open, stepping into the room. It's mostly dark, but there's still enough light to see. There's a throne-like chair at the far end of the room that vaguely resembles...

Wait –

Wait.

Before he can finish that line of thought, his eyes settle on the figure on the throne. He looks just like the one Luke saw on occasion, but he didn't realize he was quite this tall. Yellow? eyes peer down at him, from so many feet above his head.

"So you have arrived," the figure purrs.

"Who are you?" Luke demands, refusing to show any of the fear that's suddenly rising inside of him. Something's not right here. No, something is very, very wrong. He just doesn't know what.

"Some call me Snoke," he replies, "But once, I was another, a dark Lord of the Sith."

Luke frowns. "That... is not what you said before."

"I have seen both sides of the Force, my boy," Snoke responds, "The Light is weak. Those who use it will always fail. You have seen the power of the Dark Side, the power to save your father."

He can't really deny the truth of those words, especially not with how strongly the Dark Side is calling to him. He can't be a Jedi anymore anyway, not after what he did. He always wanted to be like Anakin, and... But if he can have his father with him, it will be worth it. "You must fully embrace the Dark Side if you want to be strong enough."

"... I thought I already did."

"No," Snoke counters, "Not yet. You still cling to the Light. You are not strong enough yet."

After what he just did, maybe he should stop to think, but it wasn't because he Fell that that happened.

"I can sense your questions," Snoke murmurs, "Tell me, was it not the Alliance who killed you father?"

It ignites a familiar feel of anger and betrayal in him, but now, there's hatred and despair directed at himself. "Yes, but –" He also can't deny the guilt burning through him now.

"How does this make them any different from the Empire they claim to fight?" Snoke presses, "They do the same, yet claim to be better. They have killed millions in their fight for "freedom" and "justice". Will there ever be justice for those whose family members were killed because of them?"

It's... he can't exactly deny Snoke's point, even if it's not like the Empire wasn't being far worse. "You... support the Empire?" he asks, almost lamely.

"I support order," Snoke replies, "The galaxy is nothing but chaos now."

"The Empire was no better!"

"Perhaps not," Snoke agrees, "Perhaps together you and I can recreate... order. But that is not why you're here. You want to bring your father back, and I will help, but you must follow my instructions, or you will never be strong enough in the Dark Side."

Luke nods, uncertainly.

Snoke gestures with his hand, and a lightsaber floats from somewhere unidentifiable to hover in front of Luke. He freezes when he sees it.

"That's – that's my father's," he chokes out, eyes going wide.

"So you remember it," Snoke agrees, as though he could somehow forget.

"Where did you get it?!"

"I collect... artifacts of a time gone," he replies, "We begin now." With another flick of his hand, the lightsaber lands in Luke's hand. "Feel it, the crystal. It can show you a little of its last user."

He has no idea how this is relevant, but maybe something his father used to own was necessary somehow. Luke settles onto the floor, taking the lightsaber in both hands and closing his eyes, sinking into the Force.

The first thing that hits Luke is sheer loneliness radiating from the kyber crystal in his hands. It always felt of his father – something he didn't truly realize until later – but he never noticed or paid much attention to any of the emotions that accompanied that.

Force, why does it feel so much loneliness? Like he was all alone? Ben had said he and Anakin were friends, although he'd also lied about so many other things, for all Luke knows that could be a lie too. (Then why was Vader keeping things from Ben at his castle?)

"Because he was always alone," Snoke's voice speaks over his thoughts.

"How do you know?" Luke objects. "How do you know so much about everything?"

"Once I knew your father," he replies, "I was the only one who ever truly knew him."

This is all a million kinds of weird, but the words actually do ring true. He really wishes he knew more about his father's life. "Can you tell me about him?" Luke requests.

"Everyone else your father ever knew betrayed him. Except me."

Luke frowns. What...? It would explain the loneliness, but he can't even begin to imagine what a life like that would be like. And why has he never heard of this 'Snoke' before now?

"We can discuss more in the morning," Snoke continues, "For now, you will be my guest."

**w**

Anakin knew appearing to Leia wouldn't be easy – especially if she was subconsciously or intentionally blocking him – but it takes far too long. All he can do is watch in growing horror and desperation as his son snaps completely, and then runs.

He tries to reach him, but it's all for nothing.

It isn't until then, when Leia is done listening to the story of what happened – and he can acutely feel her shock and confusion and denial – that Anakin is finally able to appear, Obi-Wan along with him.

However she reacts to this, he knows he deserves no less.

"Leia," Anakin begins. She looks so much like Padme; he can see it now. He hadn't seen her in so many years and then, it was only through the red lenses of his helmet, so of course, he hadn't noticed the similarities, but now... They're so similar, and it hurts.

Leia's eyes widen, a mixture of shock and confusion. "You're – Ben?" she asks, gaze jumping to Obi-Wan.

"Yes, Leia, it's me," he replies.

"But – how are you here? Luke –" she nearly stumbles over the name, "– mentioned that you talked to him sometimes but..."

"We're projecting ourselves through the Force," Obi-Wan explains.

"Force ghosts," Anakin supplies.

Leia's gaze jumps to him again, her face going mostly blank and expression steeling. "You're Anakin Skywalker, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"But... You're dead. You're... all Luke has been talking about. You're – what are you doing here?"

He has to say, the measure of control she has right now is more than a little admirable. She doesn't sound overly hostile, but she doesn't exactly not either. There's a distinct amount of not quite fear but close to it there too, even if none of it is visible externally.

"I must speak with you about Luke," he replies, hoping the urgency is obvious enough.

Her hurt and confusion over what happened are radiating loudly, even through her strong shields. "You're all he's been talking about since the Death Star," she says again, "And then this happened. Why didn't you appear to him?"

"I tried but I cannot. I believe someone is blocking me," he explains.

"I tried as well, but I couldn't reach him either," Obi-Wan cuts in, "We suspect it may be Sidious – the Emperor."

Leia frowns. "The Emperor is dead!"

"His spirit is still alive," Anakin replies, "I did not realize until... Now."

Her worry and fear flare instantly, though her expression doesn't change. "Then where is Luke?! What happened?!"

"I believe Sidious has been manipulating him," Anakin replies, "He is convinced that he can... bring me life."

"What?!"

"With the Force," Obi-Wan explains gravely, "He is on Exegol now."

"But Sidious is building up forces there," Anakin adds, "You cannot simply go there to find him. If Sidious got ahold of you, too..." No, he doesn't want to think about it. The Sith cannot hurt and ruin his children's lives too. It's enough that he already has Luke, not Leia too.

"You couldn't have told us any of this before?" Leia demands.

"We can only intervene when and how the Force deems it so," Obi-Wan replies.

"I tried before," Anakin interjects, "But I believe you were... blocking me."

She nods curtly but doesn't reply immediately. He can tell there's a lot on her mind, most of which she doesn't want to or isn't sure how or if she should say.

"Leia... I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know it will mean little to you after everything I did to you and your family, but I am."

He can't tell exactly what she's thinking as she studies him, or maybe he's simply trying not to. He deserves to feel it though, all of it. "You saved Luke's life," she replies, finally, "And that – means something. Just help me bring him home."

Anakin nods. "I will," he promises. He can't ask for anything more.

**w**

Images swim in front of Luke's eyes, and he finds himself overlooking a lava river, on what looks like Mustafar. On the floating platform in the middle of the river he spots two figures, their blue lightsabers clashing furiously, matching the anger in both their eyes.

One of them... he looks so much like Ben, just far younger.

And the other... is that Luke's father?! He can see the resemblance clearly, but what really strikes him is how he looks no older than Luke himself is now.

Why are they fighting?! Or is this – is this from after he Fell? One look at the anger burning in both their eyes answers all of Luke's questions on that.

A sense of dread claws under his skin, and something tells him he is not going to like what's about to happen. They're floating rapidly towards the bank, and Ben jumps off, landing at the top of the steep slope. "It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!"

As though his father has anywhere else to go, unless he's planning to stay in the lava. "You underestimate my power," he retorts, and then flips through the air straight at him.

Luke would probably have screamed something, anything if he could, because he knows what a stupid move that is, but his father was still alive, so obviously, Ben couldn't have done anything that terrible to him –

He doesn't manage to finish that thought, as there's a flash of blue as Ben swings his lightsaber up, cutting through his father's organic limbs. Anakin lands face first on the ground, struggling to catch a grip on the sand as he slides dangerously close to the edge of the river.

All Luke can do is gape with steadily rising, sickening horror because what?!

He knew his father's limbs were metal, but this – What?!

"You were the Chosen One!" Ben yells, as Anakin practically moans at his feet, "It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness." He turns, picking up Anakin's lightsaber and starting to walk away.

What?! WHAT?! Anakin twists on the ground, trying in vain to push himself up. "I hate you!" he screams.

Ben stops, looking back. "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you."

It's all he has time to say before Anakin's robes catch fire.

"Loved'?" Luke wants to scream, but he's too frozen from sheer horror to even open his mouth, and even if he did, he thinks all he would do is throw up. He's seen plenty of horrific, gruesome things before, but seeing this happening to his father, done by Ben is completely different. 'Then why are you leaving him?!'

But he only turns away and walks off without looking back, leaving Anakin to die.

He wants to wake up from this. He doesn't even want to see this anymore. How could Ben have done that?! True, Luke has no idea what Anakin did before that, but still. Nothing excuses that. Nothing.

And to think Ben claimed they were friends and even after that, he was trying to get Luke to kill him –

Luke finally jolts awake with a gasp, breathing hard.

He is going to be sick. The Dark Side floods through him, and he lets it. If – if this is what the 'Light' says is okay, Luke wants nothing more to do with it. Especially not by the teachings of the person who did this, and then manipulated Luke himself for years.

Snoke was right about the Dark Side, wasn't he.

And speaking of Snoke, Luke can feel his dark presence – why is it so familiar – touching him through the Force, in what seems to be a silent invitation to come find him.

He doesn't wait.

"So now you see what the Jedi truly are," Snoke declares, as he steps into the room. Does he ever move from that throne?

"Yes," Luke rasps, "You – you were right." He doesn't want to be a Jedi anymore, at least not whatever kind Ben and Yoda were trying to teach him to be. But he does have one more question. "But who are you? How did you know my father?"

"I was his master," Snoke replies, a strange amount of glee in his voice, and suddenly he sounds so very familiar.

That's when it hits Luke all at once, so hard he nearly staggers back, an uncontrolled, unclenching panic building inside of him. "You – you're – "

"Yes," he agrees, and yes, he is definitely gloating now, "But do not fear."

No, Force, what has he done? "You're the Emperor," Luke hisses, his fear starting to bleed into anger, if only to keep himself from panicking, "You – You lied to me."

"No, my young friend," he replies, and now, how he always sits on that throne makes so much sense, "I have never lied to you. You felt how your father always did among the Jedi, when you touched his crystal. You saw what Kenobi did to him. The only one who never betrayed him was me."

"You killed him!" Luke snarls furiously, but that doesn't stop the panic surging through him, because the Emperor was supposed to be dead, gone, but apparently he's here and alive and Luke walked right to him, and there's no way for him to escape. And he only survived last time because of Vader.

"Unfortunate," Snoke agrees, "But his actions brought it upon himself. He betrayed me first, even after I was the only one who stood with him."

"What do you really want?" he demands, angrily. Everything he felt in that medical room flashes through his mind again. The Emperor – he did that to Vader. He tortured him unimaginably. (It's no wonder Vader was so dark.)

"I want the same as you do," the Sith replies, "I see that Vader made a mistake at the time, and I want him alive."

Luke shakes his head, glowering at him. 'I must obey my master'. "No, I won't help you. You – what do you really want with him?"

Snoke still seems unfazed. "Do you see the chaos in the galaxy around you?" he asks, "Until both the Empire and the Alliance fall, there will always be war, destruction, death. But I cannot restore peace alone. I need an apprentice. Your father served me loyally for years, and now that you have seen the truth of the Force, both of you will help me; together we will be unstoppable."

The Emperor is asking for his help. No, what is he really planning? Does he seriously think that, after everything, Luke will help him recreate the Empire?! "I want my father back," Luke replies steely, "But I will not help you rebuild an Empire."

"Perhaps we should start at the beginning, my boy." The seriously sinister note to his voice is gone, replaced by something almost gentle, but he knows better than to trust it. And he very much doubts he'll want to hear anything the Emperor has to say, but he clenches his jaw, staring him down, staying silent.

Snoke seems to take that as a cue to keep talking. "When I first met Anakin, he was a padawan at the Jedi Temple. He was mistreated by everyone. He had no one, least of all Kenobi, who claimed to care for him."

Luke wants to protest, but all he can feel in his mind is what the lightsaber crystal felt like, and what he saw in his nightmare. And as much as he might want to believe this is just the Sith screwing with his mind, something in the Force tells him it isn't.

"I wanted to help him. As a Jedi, he was never allowed to love or show attachment to anyone, no matter how much he craved it. I imagine Kenobi taught you a little about this yourself." Luke doesn't bother to reply, but Snoke keeps talking. It would bother him less if it didn't feel like everything the Emperor is saying is the truth. He didn't realize the Jedi's rules on it were that strict, but... Ben lied to him about so many things, hardly unlike Snoke himself did.

"I offered him the support he needed. I saw that he would never find peace as a Jedi, but he was practically forced to remain in the Order even when he wanted to leave. He found out that your mother was pregnant and was preparing to leave, but then, he saw visions of her death. I offered to help him immediately, and he agreed, especially after Yoda told him to let her die."

"What?!" Luke demands, voice rising, "That's – that's ridiculous." He wouldn't do that, would he?

"Ahh, you do not understand the Jedi, my friend. Unless someone is fighting for the cause they currently deem right, their lives are insignificant. I am sure you have seen this yourself, even if you do not want to."

Well... Yoda had told him to let Leia and Han die, if it meant keeping himself away from Vader. He'd told him to kill Vader. Luke hates more than anything that he can't dispute that point.

"I thought so," he says, almost indulgently, "As I was saying, you never lived during the Republic but your father had long since lost faith in the system. It was corrupt, far more corrupt than the Empire ever was. That is why your father supported the Empire, rightfully believing it to be the only way that peace may be restored. The Jedi were committing treason, just another faction throwing the galaxy into chaos, and they used Anakin to take the fall for it. He realized what they were doing at the last moment, and aligned his loyalty with me. When Kenobi realized this and that he had Fallen, he tried to kill him."

Luke swallows. He just – he turned on Anakin because of that? There's probably more to the story, but he can't shake the sound of his father's screams from mind. He can't –

Urgh, he doesn't even want to think about this anymore.

"Your father supported the Empire," the Emperor repeats. "He saw that that system was the only way."

Luke scoffs. "The Empire was corrupt. It was destroying everything."

"Was it?" Snoke asks lightly, "You never saw the corruption of the Republic. The only way to weed out all of it was through an Empire, but even then, chaos was everywhere. The Rebellion itself was started by some of those who corrupted the Republic. You saw their corruption yourself. They are no better than the Empire they claim to resist. I attempted to restore order, but because of them, the entire galaxy has been plunged into civil war. Do you see any peace now that the central government is gone?"

No, he doesn't. But that's only because the Imperial forces won't stop fighting, and it's so disorganized now that everyone is fighting. The galaxy is in total chaos now. "It's only because your followers keep on fighting."

"Without a central figure to hold the galaxy together, this will always continue," Snoke replies, "Now that it has begun, do you really believe the galaxy will settle for rule by the Alliance when there's so many who are against it? There are many across the galaxy who would still answer to me if I gave them the order. I could order them to negotiate an agreement with the Alliance, but do you really believe they would agree?"

"After we just defeated you, they would have no reason to agree to install you as Emperor again," Luke retorts, narrowing his eyes.

"I did not ask for that," he replies, "I only want order restored to the galaxy. Perhaps if the leadership of the Alliance were changed so they would agree to negotiation, this may work, but with these current leaders, that would never happen. There are many of my former supporters who would agree to peace, if they were given the chance and certain choices. But they must have a strong leader, and they lack that now."

"And who do you think that leader would be?" Luke demands.

"I have found no one capable of leading, except..."

"Yourself?" he scoffs.

Snoke leans forward, staring down at Luke. "I didn't betray your father, Luke. It was the Jedi who forcibly took away your mother and kidnapped you and your sister, so I was unable to save your mother's life. Because of them, your father looked for you for years. It is the way of the Sith for there to be only two and for the apprentice to eventually kill the master, so Vader believed he would have to destroy me to have you at his side, but had I known, I would have let you both be my apprentices. I give you that offer now. Join me, and I will help you bring him back."

The darkness of the room sends a shiver through Luke as he looks away from Snoke for a moment, trying to reign in his raging emotions. He doesn't know what to say or do anymore. The Emperor does have some very good points. Everything he said about the Jedi... maybe some of the facts are missing, but what he said is still inherently the truth. The Jedi betrayed his father. Ben betrayed his father. They...

He doesn't want to be a Jedi anymore, and now he wonders if the Dark Side really is the best path.

And as for what Snoke is saying about the galaxy... He has seen the fighting only growing worse. There's so many remnants of the Empire, and there's no way to destroy them without probably many more years of fighting, if even. Or trying to negotiate, but that would mean giving ground, and he doesn't think the Alliance would do that.

The Alliance who... Luke doesn't know if he can trust.

He can't trust Snoke either.

So who can he trust?

The answer, in the end, is pretty simple. His father. If he could talk to Anakin, he would know what to do, right? He was with the Emperor for years, and he also knew the Republic and the Jedi. Leia would make a good leader, but if she's blinded by the Alliance (and hates his father) he doesn't know if he can trust her right now.

He doesn't believe everything Snoke has said, and he knows the only way for sure that the galaxy will find peace is if the Emperor is dead, but he's not strong enough to do it alone. He needs his father back first. Which means there is only one path forwards.

"I accept," Luke says, quietly but clearly.

"Good," Snoke purrs, "Then kneel. Pledge yourself to me."

Luke has no idea how this is supposed to work, but he does as instructed, taking a step forwards and lowering himself to his knees in front of the once Emperor. It makes his skin crawl to be in this position, but it's what he has to do. It's the only way. He can only hope he isn't signing his own doom. "I pledge myself to your teachings. To the ways of the Sith."

"Good," he says again, "A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth you shall be known as Darth... Sicarius."

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