Chapter 5 – Onset of Darkness

Author's Note: We regret nothing. :D

~ Amina Gila

The Emperor's presence burns at the edge of Luke's mind constantly, and it makes him more than a little hesitant to actually indulge in his own thoughts too much. Snoke already has such a deep connection with Luke's mind after all and looking back, he has to wonder why he never suspected it before.

It's like Snoke always knows his every thought, like he knows everything about him, and it's more than a little unnerving. He may have a deal with him, but that doesn't mean he trusts him at all. (Is this how Vader felt? Was the same true for him? Is that why he said he had to obey him?)

It's easier for Luke not to think anyway, because he... refuses to dwell on any of the doubts that keep creeping into his mind over what he's about to do. Leia will be furious with him, but... he will make her understand. Later.

The first thing Snoke actually teaches him is about bleeding his crystal. Luke sits in the center of the room, letting the Dark Side flow through him channeling it into the crystal in his palm.

It cries in protest, but he presses onwards. He makes it feel the pain he feels – the pain his father apparently knew every day of his existence for who knows how many years.

Finally, Luke pulls back, looking down at the now faintly tinged red crystal in his hands. He lifts the parts, reassembling them, pulling the hilt back to him and igniting it, to reveal a blood red blade.

It fits.

It's what he is now.

He doesn't want anything to do with the Jedi anyway.

"If we are to form any deal with the Alliance," Snoke tells him, as soon as he goes to see him again, "Those who will resist must be eliminated."

Eliminated? He means...

He's going to kill them.

Well, Luke already knew that was coming, but something inside of him protests instantly. He can't... But he knows this is inevitable.

"I sense your reluctance," Snoke hisses.

"I merely question... if that's entirely necessary," he dares to admit.

"There is only one path forward, Lord Sicarius," Snoke replies, "They must be eliminated. Begin with the rebel leader who was on Endor. This is the only way to restore order to the galaxy. Do what must be done. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough in the Dark Side to bring back your father."

Luke doesn't question it again.

The leaders on Endor... it's because of them that his father died. Some of them were there; he was arguing with them about it. They gave the order, and they do deserve to die. Nothing excuses what they did there, no matter who Vader was.

**w**

"Commander Skywalker?" one of them asks, looking up in surprise.

Luke doesn't reply, igniting his lightsaber. His hood is pulled low over his head, but he isn't surprised they recognized him.

It wasn't hard for him to find them. He remembers when he was talking to them on Endor when they refused to help him. He remembers every bit of his emotions that day, how everything that happened then still haunts him constantly.

Just doing this... it's wrong, he knows, but he knows why he has to do it. It's worth it in the end. It is.

"What are you doing/" one of them asks, warily now, as they eye his red lightsaber.

Blood red like the blood that will soon cover it. Luke lifts a hand, closing all the entrances to the room with the Force, locking them so they can't escape. At least not easily.

He reaches for the memory of before, of how he felt then as his father died in front of him, letting his anger and desire for revenge fill him – ruthlessly squashing any doubts – and lunges forwards.

He cuts down the first two before they react. The others start to back away, whipping out their blasters and firing.

They're no match for him though, and there's nowhere for them to go. They had it coming anyway. This is for his father and for – for peace to the galaxy.

Luke doesn't respond to their shocked protests, moving forwards and slashing through them all methodically. They put up a fight, but it's pointless in the end. He's far more powerful, and he takes them down with ease.

He runs his lightsaber through the last one, before finally stepping back, breathing hard.

They're dead.

All of them.

For a moment all he can do is stand there. He's used to killing. He always has been; he had to from the time he was a child to protect himself. This was different. It was – this was murder.

But it wasn't senseless. He had to do it. He did.

That doesn't change that, when he turns away, the hatred twisting inside of him has only deepened a little further, this time directed at himself. He thought maybe it would make him feel satisfied for them to be dead after what they did, but it didn't. Not really. Revenge is never truly satisfying, he knows. If anything, he just feels more empty than ever before.

But it doesn't matter. Nothing does now. It's time for him to go back to his master to report that his mission was successful.

**w**

Anakin knows it's pointless by now, but he can't let Luke go through this all alone. It's far too dangerous to appear on Exegol – he knows that the Sith have ways to trap Jedi Force ghosts and he doesn't care to find out if he can resist it; it wouldn't be worth it anyway since there's nothing he can do against Sidious right now – but he can talk to Luke here in the ship.

Luke is resting his arms on the dashboard of the fighter, his head half-buried in his hands, and Anakin can feel his emotions raging wildly.

It hurts so much, feeling how dark he is now, just remembering the stubborn light he was feeling when he came to confront him on the Death Star.

Anakin thought the one person in his family he might not hurt just this once would be Luke – other than Bespin, and he shies away from that – but he was so wrong. This is all happening because of him. Because Luke wants him back. It's on Sidious too, of course, but that doesn't mean his son isn't being hurt in the process.

"Luke?" he tries, half-settling next to him, partly through all the controls. He's translucent anyway, so it doesn't matter. His son can't feel it, doesn't even know he's here, but he reaches over, wrapping a metaphysical arm around him.

And then, Luke suddenly stiffens.

"Luke?" he tries again, pushing against the barrier he can feel around him, almost daring to hope.

But the boy only frowns. "Father?" he asks, looking around, face twisting with confusion, before he lets out a defeated sigh, slumping forward in his fighter again.

He – he sensed him, then, but it still wasn't enough to break through.

"I'm going to bring you back. I will," Luke vows to the not-so empty air, "I – I wish it didn't have to be like this, but I don't know what else to do."

"Don't do this," Anakin requests, even if it's pointless. He can't hear him. "Don't do this. I'm not worth it. Nothing is worth this." He knows what it's like, though, far too well. He had done everything back then, for Padme, and Luke and Leia, and now Luke is going down that same path. And all that time, he'd wanted out but once he started, he didn't know how to pull back. He didn't have the strength too, and was too scared to, telling himself over and over that's it's what he had to do. Now Luke is doing the exact same thing, and there's nothing Anakin can do to stop it.

The only person who might be able to make a difference when Luke is in this state is Leia. But she can't go to Exegol, or Sidious will get her too. Anakin can only wait until Luke is elsewhere, and try to direct them to each other, and from there, he can only trust in the Force.

"I need to find a way to end all of this, and you're the only one I can trust," Luke continues.

And, of course, he's also doing it for what he hopes might be best for the galaxy, or at least he's telling himself that – the same way Anakin had. It fills him with an infuriating helplessness, because if nothing else, shouldn't he at least be able to help his children not make the same mistakes? Or would he make it worse again? He would never have listened to Padme on Mustafar, and in this state, he doesn't know if talking to Luke would be enough. Or maybe it's the only thing that would be enough.

It's worse that Anakin knows what that longing is like – that longing to have a father. He spent his whole life wishing for it, wishing that Obi-Wan would care. In the end, he realized he'd always had it, even if Anakin knows why he couldn't see it at the time.

He didn't want his children to go through the same. But there's nothing he can do if he can't even talk to Luke. He doesn't know if it would be enough, but at this point, it doesn't matter, not until he can find a way to break the barrier Sidious put between them.

**w**

"I thought Vader was the only lightsaber wielding maniac the Empire had left," Han huffs. "Aren't the Inquisitors gone?"

"It's not an Inquisitor," Leia snaps, pacing back and forth in the hold of the Falcon. She knows what's happening, Anakin knows, and it hurts. He should be able to protect her and his son from this, but there's nothing he can do. He could try talking to her, but really, what could ever make her feel better at this point?

"Whoa, where's this coming from, Your Highness?" Han asks, holding a hand up.

She stops pacing, jolting to a stop, though there's an obvious glint of tears in her eyes that she furiously blinks away. "Sorry," she says, roughly, "You know there's only – only one –" She turns away.

Han's expression grows grave instantly. "It can't be. He would never do that."

"He would never attack his friends either!"

"Leia," Anakin tries. He doesn't know what he's going to say, but he can't just watch when his daughter is feeling like this.

She spins, gaze snapping to him.

"What?" Han asks, confused.

"What?" Leia queries, expression hardening a little, though she looks close to tears, ignoring Han's question completely.

"I can't reach him, Leia," he settles for finally, "I tried. I'm... sorry."

"It was him, then," she whispers.

"Sidious is manipulating him. You may be the only one who can get through to him. It's not too late to change his mind."

"How can I do that when I can't even find him?!" she yells. She's not mad at him, he knows, it's just the situation. He can hardly blame her for that.

"What are you talking about?! Leia!" Han demands.

"Hold on," she snaps, though there's no heat in it.

"The next time he's away from Exegol, I will tell you if I can, so you can confront him. But be careful. He will... probably try to get you to join him. I know how the Dark Side works. You are still important to him, and he will want you at his side." Anakin had been that way once, with everyone in his family – except Ahsoka. He wanted Luke and once Obi-Wan to be with him, an affection twisted by the Dark Side. Ahsoka... he wanted to be with her too, but he remembered the way she had once been, and he didn't want her to be anything else.

Leia blinks, breathing in shakily. "Alright," she replies, turning away. He wants to say more, but he knows at this point, him offering comfort to her would do little. He should leave her with her friends who can actually help her.

"What's going on?" Han demands, as Anakin fades out again.

Anakin watches for just another moment, as Leia starts to explain to Han what's going on – they're close now; Han should be able to give her emotional support, if nothing else – before he disappears again, feeling just as hopeless as he did before. He needs to help his children and destroy Sidious, but now, there's nothing he can do.

**w**

It's hard to know when Snoke is snooping on his mind, so Luke can hardly afford to think about much of anything most of the time. He can't really finish that thought process in and of itself, because that implies that he has something to hide from him.

He doesn't have any privacy in his own mind anymore, and that makes it hard to plan anything. It infuriates him too, though he tries not to let himself indulge in that line of thought, not when he can constantly feel the Emperor hovering so close.

It makes thinking about – about what he really wants here almost impossible. That's especially true when he's on Exegol, but he doesn't feel much more secure even when he's elsewhere.

He's seen so much more of Exegol that it's downright terrifying, even if there's most places that he isn't even allowed to go to. Snoke literally has Star Destroyers with the enough firepower to destroy an entire planet there, and he tries hard not to think about all that time he spent helping Leia get over what happened to Alderaan.

He could – Snoke is really right, isn't he? He's prepared for almost everything, and the only real way to restore peace to the galaxy in the end is by destroying him from the inside.

There's only one place Luke feels minorly safe to indulge in that train of thought, and that's... on his technically unsanctioned trip to Mustafar, after another brief mission. He stopped at Vader's castle, if only to feel his father's presence again. He misses him, and in the end, he doesn't know if there's anyone who will want to be around him after this, other than his father.

Maybe Leia will in time, but he doesn't know when.

Luke settles inside Vader's meditation pod – will his father mind? He doubts it – and lets the currents of the Dark Side flow around him. It's especially easy in a place like this. There's so much pain here, so much of Vader's and much of... other people's, though Luke prefers not to think about that part of it.

But more and more as time goes on, the more he begins to think that this is really what his father felt like. It's what his life was like for so many years, while the galaxy... enjoyed itself.

Snoke hasn't taught Luke much, but it's enough, and his teaching methods are far from pleasant. He still can't quite shake from his mind that time when he'd taught him how to use lightning, something Luke is still learning to get experience with.

Snoke had given him an explanation for how to use it, and when Luke had tried and failed, he decided to demonstrate it on him. And that had been enough to throw him into a near panic attack over what happened on the Death Star. For a moment, all he could see was the Emperor standing over him, and then Vader dying and –

Hearing Snoke cackling through all of that, probably half-reading it from Luke's mind, had made something in him snap completely, and drawing enough fury and hatred to produce Sith lightning then had been easy.

That was probably Snoke's point from the start, but that doesn't mean... He's far from a pleasant teacher, especially with how he seems to know every bit of Luke's mind so well, and Luke has to wonder if it's because he's in his head that much, or because Luke responds to situations a little similarly to how Vader did. Or maybe it's a bit of both. He doesn't know, but all that matters is how much he has to watch his thoughts.

Here at least for the moment, though, he feels a certain measure of... privacy.

(He can feel the guilt, the self-loathing, too, that he knows will never go away. Does it matter, though, as long as the Dark Side makes him powerful? He wishes so much now that he'd accepted his father's offer on Bespin. Maybe they could have destroyed the Emperor then although there still would be whatever he has on Exegol to deal with. But at least his father would be alive.)

He remembers that time he'd thought he'd sensed his father – after his first mission. But then it was gone as quickly as it came, so he knows it could have been naught but his imagination, going crazy with longing over how much he wants to see him again.

For now, he'll have to settle for the most he can get – a short amount of time in Vader's castle, or the things he hears from Snoke which are... Frankly, it's downright unsettling the way Snoke talks about Vader, like he's some kind of favorite pet that he misses or something.

He does not want his father near him, but Snoke is the only way to bring him back, so for now, he'll have to work with what he can get.

In the end, this is also for the galaxy too, because without Vader, Luke doubts if they'll ever be able to defeat the Emperor.

**w**

Sometimes, Luke finds it easier to zone out entirely for some of the things that Snoke demands of him. (It's wrong and he knows it, but more and more he doesn't see what else he can do. It's too late to back out.)

"I won't tell you anything," the rebel prisoner they captured says defiantly. Which is unfortunate for his sake, although Luke knows Snoke will tell him to kill him regardless of whether he talks or not. It's just a matter of how much Luke is ordered to hurt him first.

The Rebel was captured snooping around some Imperial base, threatening their plans. The Emperor is not pleased with what they might find out, and he wanted Luke to deal with any loose ends immediately.

It's not as if there aren't other people who can do it, but he knows why the Emperor wants him to be the one.

It's making him stronger in the Dark Side, though, strong enough to end all of this. It's all he can hope for at this point.

"His mind will speak," Snoke tells Luke telepathically, still from his throne. Seriously, does he ever leave it? If he does, it's certainly not when Luke is anywhere around.

"How?" he protests, though he's pretty sure that he already knows the answer to that.

"It is like a mind trick, but more invasive. You only need to break through the shields of his mind, and search for the answer."

"You will tell me what I want to know," Luke orders, throwing the full weight of the Force into his words.

And for a moment he almost thinks that it might work, but only for a moment, because the rebel manages to shake it off, returning to his stubborn silence.

"Like this," Snoke hisses, and suddenly a dark, icy cold presence slams into his shields. Luke staggers back a step, gasping sharply at the feel of the presence digging into the outermost layers of his mind. It's not as if the Emperor isn't often this close to his head, but it's never been quite this invasive and personal (and painful) before.

The presence recedes just as quickly, but he can still feel Snoke's dark glee, and it infuriates him.

Pain leads to fear, which leads to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to power, the Emperor has told him over and over again, and he can't deny that there's truth to those words.

"Do it," the Emperor orders.

"Yes, Master," he replies. He doesn't have much other choice anyway, and – It's what he has to do.

Luke lifts a hand, pressing against the person's shields, much the way he did in a mind trick, but following the Emperor's demonstration, digging deeper into his mind. It's dangerous, at risk of breaking his mind, he knows, but he does it as carefully as he can.

The rebel tries to fight him off instinctively, but Luke is far stronger and he's not Force sensitive at all. The only shielding that he has is whatever is there naturally and it's easy enough to dig past it, shuffling through his thoughts until he's able to find what he needs.

The Rebels do know more about the Empire's positions than they should.

They're planning an attack on a secret Imperial stronghold and Luke knows he needs to tell Snoke about this immediately. He also knows where things are going to go from there whether he likes it or not.

Finally, Luke pulls back from the rebel's mind, reaching for Snoke instead to report the information.

"Ahh yes, it is as I expected," he murmurs, "You must go there to stop them, Lord Sicarius. Do what must be done."

So much for trying to create peace with the Alliance. Luke is no longer so sure he supports what they've done, but he hardly supports what the Empire has done and is still doing either. But it's too late now. All he can do is keep working until he has a chance to –

To things he can't think about now. It's time for him to leave on his new mission.

**w**

The battle is already raging furiously by the time Luke gets there, and from the looks of it, the Empire is losing. The rebels were well-prepared, and... He finds himself standing there only staring for a few moments. This – It feels wrong. It feels wrong to be fighting alongside the stormtroopers, after everything, but –

He ruthlessly crushes that line of thought, igniting his lightsaber. He knows what he has to do. There's no time to think about it, so he doesn't. He has yet to fail the Emperor on any mission, and he doesn't much care to find out what will happen if he does.

He forces back the memories of destroying the Imperial walkers alongside his pilot friends. This is the organization that killed his father. They killed so many others too, people who also didn't deserve it. (Not that Luke didn't, and still isn't.) Without thinking any more, he throws himself into the fight.

The rebels are still doing well, but the stormtroopers are doing a lot better the moment they have a lightsaber wielder on their side. (Are any of his friends here?)

The battle is too far gone, though, even as they start pushing the rebels back. There are too many rebels, and they've already destroyed so much of the Imperial forces. It's pretty obvious who's going to win this round.

So, he finally gives the order for them to evacuate, and can only hope that they listen. Even as they start to withdraw, the Alliance forces continue pressing their attacks.

There's only one way to slow them down, and... Luke positions himself somewhere that he hopefully won't be seen, lifting a hand and reaching out with the Force toward one of the stolen Imperial walkers the rebels are now using against them. He can feel the mind of the pilot, and he latches onto it, twisting the controls, open firing on the gathered rebels. They all scatter frantically, their panic and confusion radiating loudly into the Force around them. He can instantly feel Snoke's dark glee in the back of his mind for a moment, and he has to wonder how much of the time Snoke is just sitting there watching him. (It's beyond unsettling.)

Luke is too focused on controlling the walker, though, and the Force suddenly flares in warning, but he doesn't have time to pull back to himself quickly enough.

Something slams into him, throwing him to the ground. Luke scrambles back to himself, rolling out of the way as he sees a very familiar Wookie standing over him.

Chewie.

His expression is twisted in something between anger, betrayal, and confusion.

No, no, no –

He wasn't supposed to run into one of them here. Not one of them.

"Chewie," Luke utters breathlessly, scrambling to his feet.

"Why?" the Wookie growls.

"You won't understand," he says, past the sudden mess of tangled emotions twisting in him. He thinks shame is the strongest. He fought side by side with him and Han and Leia for years and now he's – He's their enemy now. It was all a result of one stupid choice when he'd fled the Alliance, and now he knows he can never come back.

Maybe after his father is alive, once they have control of the galaxy, maybe then he can work something out with his old friends, but until then – they're on opposite sides.

"You're betraying us!" he growls, moving towards him, almost threateningly, but Luke can tell that he doesn't want to hurt him, and that's – Bad, because he can't stop fighting.

"Kill him," Snoke hisses, and his blood runs cold.

He yanks up his shields as tightly as he can, for the first time shoving Snoke back, and he can pretend it's only so he doesn't lose focus in the battle, but he knows a second later that was a mistake. His master will not be happy.

"Get out," Luke hisses, "Leave while you still can."

Chewbacca growls again, expression filling with anger. "How can you do this?" he demands again, and Luke lashes out with the Force, throwing the Wookie as far as he can.

Something twists, clenching painfully inside of him, but he turns away, about to run as he moves to get up. He doesn't know what he's planning to do now. If Chewie is planning to fight him, he doesn't wait to see, spinning and bolting away across the fields, towards the retreating Imperial forces.

He doesn't want to fight him, doesn't want any of this truly. Doubts flicker through his mind and he struggles to crush them, but it's hard when – when –

He doesn't want this. He doesn't want any of this, but he doesn't see a way out. He can't run back to the Alliance anymore. Not after what they did. Not after everything he's done. Not when this is the only way to bring his father back, the only way to take down the Emperor, because the Alliance will never succeed. They need someone from the inside, and this is the only way.

"Luke!"

He jolts to a stop, heart rate spiking at the sound of the familiar voice.

Leia.

No, not her. Anyone but her. (He can't face her ever again. Not after what he's done.)

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