Author's Note: First of all, my thanks to all who reviewed! I honestly didn't expect this kind of response. Second, I want to apologize to all for my taking so long to bring a close to this story. I guess with Episode III coming soon, I was a little more motivated. I'm also hoping this story will more than make up for the wait.

There is a very minor spoiler for Episode III towards the end. It's nothing earth shattering, but I felt it did fit into the story.

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Chapter 2

"Ani!"

Although unbecoming a princess of her breeding, Leia muttered a curse she'd often heard Han use and wondered, for the tenth time, why she was here and what she was doing looking for a mysterious child who had shown up, had led her into the forest and had disappeared into a stygian path.

She paused briefly in her search for the boy and glanced again at the 'gift' given to her. Why had this – of all things – been left to her? She was definitely no Jedi. If anyone, it should have been Luke to receive this. Even if she acknowledged her parentage, this didn't necessarily mean she had even close to the attunement of the Force she'd seen her brother show. Did that really matter, though, considering who her father was? Leia sighed and shook her head. Why must something as a weapon from a near-extinct order further remind her of where she came from?

Leia cleared her mind of the despairing thoughts and focused on finding that elusive child. The mist continued further in past the gnarled trees, hanging in the air and making it hard to see more than a few feet in front of her. The soft, moist ground beneath Leia's boots was the only indication that she walked on anything solid. Unlike the clearing some ways behind her, this misty alcove held numerous creatures, all hissing and chittering around her; some were slithering between trees, others scampered below in the fog-drenched ground.

"Ani!" she called again, but neither small child, nor answer came forth from the mists. Leia shook her head, again wondering what in the name of the Force she was doing here and where that curious boy had gone. She took one more step…

…and all sounds around her abruptly stopped.

A strong, frigid breeze picked up and Leia shivered. In front of her the wind whipped the fog until it parted, showing more darkness beyond. Through the murky, sable haze, several pairs of glowing eyes blinked at her. The darkness in front of her deepened and slowly coalesced; angles and curves began to take form. More and more of the surrounding darkness converged to form something taller than Leia. As the last of the shadows settled into place, Leia's eyes widened.

What she had taken to be glowing eyes were, in fact, small readouts on a chest.

Even as the murmur of the wind died down, an abysmal rhythmic exhalation took its place. A small rivulet of cold sweat ran down Leia's back as a sound she thought she'd never hear again resonated all around her.

The sound of amplified breathing.

A familiar, black-clad figure towered over Leia, its long, billowing cape whipping around slightly in the wind. Leia could only step back, staring into the sightless sockets of a black armored facemask. While she had been stepping back, her mouth had worked over and over on a name:

"Vader."

Leia's heart thundered in her chest as every instinct screamed at her to run away. As she kept moving back, the figure menacingly moved forward. Leia breathed in short breaths, knowing what this creature was capable of doing to her…or to others.

How much pain, misery and bloodshed had been inflicted by the figure in front of her? How many planets, peoples and cultures were irrevocably damaged or destroyed outright by armies led by this being? And how much of this pain had touched her personally?

"…and now your Highness, we will discuss the location of your secret, rebel base." Leia watched in horror as the small torture droid rounded the corner and slowly advanced on her, just as Vader looked from it to her, clearly in anticipation…

"No!" Leia screamed, as a gloved hand clamped down on her shoulder pulling her back and forcing her to watch as the massive jade laser lanced out and annihilated Alderaan, destroying all that she loved and cared for…

Han looked serenely back at her as he was slowly lowered into the steaming pit, and Leia watched helplessly as carbonite filled the enclosure, not knowing if the man she'd professed her love to would survive…

Luke, battered, bloodied and wounded, lay on the cot in the Falcon as they all desperately tried to leave Cloud City, and miserably he repeated a name over and over…

"Vader," Leia now said through gritted teeth. She stopped in her retreat and glared at the Sith Lord. A prevailing awareness, unknown to Leia, began to blossom within her. Every injustice ever witnessed by – or done to – her, made her rage grow exponentially. Power flared and surged around and through her, in tune to her growing anger. The air literally crackled with the energy burgeoning from the Princess. Leia never knew such raw power could come from her – nor did she bother to control it.

She surrendered to it - she reveled in it.

Never had she felt so alive at the thought of the demise of another. The dark figure stopped its advance, as if the storm around the woman gave it pause.

Leia barely acknowledged the snap-hiss! of the green, incandescent blade that shot out from the lightsaber in her right hand. Gripping the weapon in both hands, she brought the tip up slightly so it pointed right at her foe's head. Another blade, crimson in color, joined with it, sending sparks crackling between them. The blade reared back, slammed Leia's emerald blade away, and then slashed towards her throat. She easily parried and then went into her own attack, heedless of her own safety, her moves guided by the Force. Each attack, each thrust became more and more vicious, as if the only reason for them was to try and inflict pain and suffering. Leia pushed the Dark Lord farther and farther back down the dark path, making her opponent go on the defensive. A slash downwards forced the red blade away, giving her a small window of opportunity. With the blade raised over her head, she brought it down, going right for the head.

She would kill him…she would avenge every wrong done by this man, this creature – no matter who he was, or had been…she would…

…become him.

In her mind's eye, she saw herself in some kind of throne room, triumphant over the shattered body of Darth Vader. Behind her, and sitting in a tall, black throne, a cloaked figure cackled. It stood, walked over, and extended a hand. Turning fully, Leia smiled malevolently as she extended her own hand…and golden eyes flashed in feral delight.

"No!" Leia screamed, just as the blade came down – and stopped just a hairs' breadth from the neck of the Dark Lord.

They stood like that for moments, Leia shaking from the sheer force of her anger and Vader doing and saying nothing as the green blade sparked and hissed so close to him. Finally, taking in breath after shocked, shuddering breath, Leia slowly pulled the saber away.

"No," Leia whispered. She took one more deep breath and shut off the saber, tossing it to the ground. "No. I won't become the thing I hate…and I'm not afraid of you anymore."

Her opponent merely looked at her, making no moves. Then, to Leia's surprise, he straightened and slowly faded into the mist. She stood there for several moments until she backed away and returned on the path to the clearing.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The fire still burned in the center as Leia came out of the woods and walked towards it. Rubbing her hands near the flames, she could only shake her head in utter confusion at what she had just experienced. What truly frightened her was how easily she had given into her anger and how much she had enjoyed it. Luke had always talked about the dangers of falling to the lure of dark side. Well, now she could understand. But what she had gone through…was it a dream…it couldn't have been real?

"Hello, Leia."

Leia's head snapped to her right. Standing a few feet away from her, wearing black and dun colored robes, was a blonde blue-eyed man. He was somewhat taller than she was, long blonde hair, compactly built, handsome…and yet, when Leia stared into those blue eyes, eagerness and solemnity were as apparent as they were in another pair of blue eyes she'd seen just moments earlier.

"Ani?"

The young man smiled and nodded. "That was my name…once…it was actually Anakin…Anakin Skywalker." He searched every bit of her face and shook his head in amazement. "There is so much of your mother that I see in you, Leia."

Leia's jaw dropped a bit and she blinked several times. "F – Father?" On this odd night of disappearing young boys and reappearing ghosts of dead enemies, accepting that this handsome young person who stood before was…had been her father wasn't too hard. That this person had also become Darth Vader…it was almost as if she was considering two separate people.

"Something like that," Anakin said quietly, as if in answer to her thoughts.

Leia shook her head. "You were the little boy I chased?"

" I was Ani…I grew up to be Anakin…and I turned into Vader," he finished in a whisper.

Leia frowned in confusion. "Why are you here – are you, really here, I mean? What was all that in the woods? Is this – any of this – real?" Even as she asked she looked back at the misty path she'd just come from. "That – that was you, wasn't it?"

Anakin nodded. "I had to make you see for yourself, Leia."

"See what?" Leia replied in exasperation. "That I'm susceptible to the dark side? That I am capable of striking down someone in anger? I was this close to killing you!"

"But you didn't, Leia," Anakin said. "Even when it came down to it, when you were just about to fall into the precipice, you chose not to. You chose not to give in to your anger and you pulled back."

"But that – that test I went through was just that: a test. It wasn't even real!"

"Your anger was real, Leia, that's all that mattered. The power you called forth and felt was real as well. Even your decision to turn back and deny your fear was very much real." Anakin shook his head, despair in his voice. "You did something I didn't – I couldn't – do. I gave in. If it's any consolation, your brother also faced – and failed – a similar test. Don't forget your brother and I were schooled in the ways of the Force. You had no such training."

Leia put a hand to her head and walked a small ways away. She then turned and faced her father, a finger pointed to her chest.

"I chose not to give in, Father – I did. But what about any future children I might have?" Leia looked down at her hands. "Do you know what it means to me that I share the same blood with one of the most feared men in the galaxy? That I share the same temptation – the same weakness – to the dark side?" Leia brown eyes bore into Anakin's blue. "You gave in, Father, and look what happened." Anakin winced and looked away. Leia continued, "How can I – in good conscience – have a child that might one day be the next Lord of the Sith?"

Anakin walked over and grabbed Leia's hands in his own. "My daughter, I can't tell you what to do; that's not why I'm here. But can you deny your future children their own right to choose? They would grow up with a better childhood that I had – that much I know." Anakin swallowed and he looked down. "Because of me and what I've done, Luke is the last Jedi in the whole galaxy – or he could very well be the first in a new order. Whatever the case may be, our family is strong in the Force, Leia. Your brother will need all the help he can get." Anakin looked away briefly, his eyes taking on a faraway look. He then frowned and took a deep breath.

"I don't have much time but…there's another reason I showed up."

"What?"

He swallowed. "I – I just wanted to say that…I'm sorry for all I did to you, Leia."

Leia stared unblinkingly at her father before she let her hands slip away from Anakin's, her face hardening in disbelief. "You're…sorry? Everything you did: Alderaan…my torture…Han…Luke and who knows what else you've done…and you're asking for forgiveness? You want absolution from me?" Leia shook her head sadly. "You did the galaxy a service by killing the Emperor and saving Luke's life, and for that I'm truly grateful. But what you ask..." Leia blinked rapidly and wiped away something from her eye.

Anakin sighed deeply and nodded to himself. "I had hoped…though I see now that I might've been foolish in thinking so, but I guess that's the best I can hope for." He straightened and smiled sadly at his daughter. A hand came up and gently caressed a cheek.

"Goodbye, Leia." He then turned and started to walk toward the woods.

Leia watched as her father slowly moved farther and farther away. A part of her screamed that this was wrong; she knew – she felt – this was the only time she would ever see her father. A thought came to mind on how she considered Anakin Skywalker and the Darth Vader as two separate people, and then she realized something astonishing:

Leia, at her worst, had reined in her anger. If she had allowed it to stay and fester inside her, would that not be just as bad, if not worse, than giving into the Dark Side? Wasn't part of that anger what she felt towards the man walking away? If that small bit remained, then did she truly learn nothing this night?

Could she not find the strength and maturity to let it go altogether?

"Please wait!"

Anakin turned to Leia, who tentatively walked up to him one last time.

"Father…I – I can't forgive what the Empire did to me. I can never forgive what was done to all that I loved." Leia swallowed and looked straight into Anakin's deep blue eyes. "I can't forgive Darth Vader…but I can forgive you."

Anakin blinked several times and he sagged slightly. He then looked up gently and embraced Leia, who felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. They stood that way for several moments until Leia pulled back. She brushed away a tear.

"I do have one question, though."

"Anything."

Leia stared deeply into her father's eyes. "What was my mother like?"

A pang of remorse flashed through her father's eyes. Of what might have been…of what was lost…of what was never known.

"Let me show you," he said quietly and grabbed her hand.

The crackling fire, the forest…everything dissolved around her.

she saw her mother, painfully young, standing in some kind of parts shop, talking to the same young boy she chased. The same look of loving wonder in the boy's eyes she witnessed in the Falcon, she saw again here…

her mother, now dressed up in elaborate makeup and dress, standing proudly in a floating platform, arguing her case before the Galactic Senate…

a massive arena with a pitched battle of hundreds of Jedi and droids sprawled before her. Near the center, her mother, wearing a torn white dress, stood with younger looking Anakin bravely fighting off the enclosing machines…

a light kiss and a secret marriage was sealed. Leia marveled at how truly beautiful and happy her mother looked as she stood there in a simple wedding dress, staring up at her husband…

Before another thought could be made, a flash of light blinded her and she could even feel the surprise in her father. When it cleared, Leia found herself in some small room. The light smell of antiseptics in the air as well as trays nearby with medical equipment made her guess that it was some form of hospital room.

She glanced at her father and found him frowning. "This isn't your…"

"I have no memory of this place," Anakin said quietly. He then turned around. "I'm not sure why – " His voice abruptly stopped at an intake of breath.

Leia followed his gaze to a small bed nearby…and gasped at who was in it.

There, drenched in sweat and looking so very pale and exhausted, was her mother. Standing next to her was another individual, wearing similar Jedi robes as her father. Even though years younger than she remembered him, the face…even the beard, were dead giveaways.

"General Kenobi?" Leia whispered.

But the memory that was this man couldn't hear her. He looked down at a small bundle in his arms and a look of pained sadness etched his face.

"Padme," the older Jedi said. "It's a girl. What would you like her to be called?"

Slowly, painfully, her mother's eyes opened to look up at the man holding her child. She took a weak breath to speak, but when her eyes roamed past Kenobi, she stopped and her eyes widened…

…as they stared right at Leia.

For a brief moment, Leia thought the woman was delusional. But she could feel those eyes – those beautiful, distraught eyes, take her in.

Blinking rapidly, the princess whispered, "Mother?"

A small smile, clearing away all the pain and sadness, graced the older woman's features. A single tear of joy slid down her cheek as mother and daughter regarded one another across time and space.

A hand reached up, gently caressed the cheek of the small infant, and inched a little farther towards Leia, who hesitated, but also reached out.

They touched.

Leia could see and feel so much love and happiness in a single glance from her mother. And just before the hand fell away…just before her mother's eyes closed for the very last time, she took one last breath and said with a last, ephemeral smile:

"Leia."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Leia?"

Leia woke with a gasp at the hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see a concerned Han Solo standing over her.

"Hey, Princess, what's wrong – were you crying in your sleep?"

Leia bolted upright and looked around to see the console, co-pilot's chair and cockpit around her. She was still in the Falcon. A came up and she could feel the wetness, not to mention the puffiness, of her cheeks

"Han…what happened?"

The ex-smuggler shook his head. "Well, it took the better part of the night before communications could be established with the Corellian government, but I figured I'd let you sleep since you looked like you needed it."

Leia frowned. "Have you seen Luke?"

"I think he was around the main camp – "

"Thank you," was all Leia said before she abruptly leapt from the pilot's chair and left a befuddled Solo behind.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The ground was wet from rain, but the charred remains of a large fire were still visible. Luke Skywalker bent down and grabbed a small stone. He ran it through his fingers several times before he tossed it back.

"This was where you…took him?" Leia asked from behind.

Luke nodded. "It was all I could think of at the time." He turned and looked thoughtfully at this sister. "Leia, the more I think about what you told me, the more I think it must have been a Force vision."

"But – it felt so real!"

"It was real – in your mind."

Leia chewed on that for a moment and then looked away. "Luke, how did you forgive him?"

Luke blinked. "It took a while, I can't deny that. I realized that I couldn't keep that pain – that anger – locked inside forever." He nodded thoughtfully to himself. "I guess it was a part of my last test before I could become a Jedi Knight. Facing Darth Vader meant not only having to confront and fight him, but confront what he was and what he did to me." Luke smiled sagely. "I wouldn't have been able to move on and become what I am if I hadn't."

Leia nodded slowly. "I think I understand. Darth Vader would never have asked for forgiveness, but when Anakin Skywalker – our real father – asked? I also knew I had to move on."

Luke sighed. "Leia, I honestly don't know what your future holds. Maybe you will become a Jedi…maybe not. But in terms of the Force, as Ben Kenobi once said to me, you've taken a small step into a larger world." He then slowly enveloped his hand over hers and both made to leave the final resting place of their father.

Leia stopped, glanced one last time towards the blackened area.

"Thank you."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A rather confused Han Solo waited back at the Millennium Falcon. When he watched Leia come out from the woods and towards him, he couldn't help noticing a more peaceful, more serene look to her.

"You going to tell me what this was all about?" Han said, crossing his arms. He'd half expected the Princess to just say nothing or tell him it was between her and Luke. But Leia just smiled and extended a hand.

"Walk with me?" she asked quietly. Han blinked but took the hand anyway.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just don't want anyone to interrupt us, especially any protocol droids that might be passing by."

Han chuckled and they walked for a short while. "What's on your mind, your worship?"

Leia stopped, grabbed the hands of the man she loved, and stared right into Han's eyes.

"Han…there's something I have to tell you."

-FIN-