Author's notes: I don't really have anything to say besides the fact I'm enjoying writing the fic right now, so I'll update as fast as I can.

korrd - whoa... many questions and I can´t really answer them. Well, this chapter answers one of them. And it does say angst/romance doesn´t it? But I´m not sure yet. Many thanks and read on.

Urazz – you think so? Well, this should make it up to you.

Chapter IX

X X X X

"There is… another…Sky… Skywalker…" Those words had a large impact both on me and Skywalker. Even more so when the tiny corpse of the ancient Jedi disappeared after a few seconds. Disappeared. Into thin air. And a noticeable ripple passed through the Force. I could sense it clearly. Strangely, the Light remained strong where Yoda´s body lied seconds ago, despite the planet's strong Dark Side aura.

I was confused. Another Skywalker? I knew of only two Skywalkers – Vader and, well, farmboy. But he also knew about Vader. Maybe Vader's wife was alive? That would make sense – technically, she was a Skywalker. But that somehow seemed ridiculous. I didn't know much about love, but I was told that it's a confusing emotion – and I never sensed anything like that from Vader. He was pretty good at hiding emotions, I admit, and it was hard to crack the enraged surface that fascinated me. There was so much hatred and venom within him; it really seemed to be impossible. So, either the wife was dead and that really pissed him off and he turned bad because of that, or he didn't know about her being alive. I somehow doubted she was with the Empire – I learned about Sith through Yoda´s memories.

The Sith feel no fear. The Sith feel no doubt. The Sith will reign the galaxy triumphant.

For how long, though?

It was then when I noticed that Skywalker was gone.

I rushed out of the hut, taking the one thing that caught my eye with me – a neatly wrapped package that pulsated with the Force, like a beating heart. It was rather small, but something told me I should take it.

"Wait, Skywalker!" I called after him, rushing to his side as he collapsed to the ground next to his ship, obviously grief- and horror-struck. The last of the Jedi had passed. It was time for some serious action.

"I can't do it, Mara. I can't go on alone."

I rolled my eyes, "Who says you're going alone, farmboy? The imp made it clear that I'm supposed to go with you. Perhaps it was a difficult sentence for you to understand. You probably think on the level of a half-dead bantha, anyway."

He seemed to ignore the final comment, because he didn't even smile. He just looked up at me, quizzically. "I thought the truce is over now. That you'll try to kill me."

"There was never any truce, Skywalker. I don't make deals with people I'm sent to kill. And I wouldn't just try – I would kill you, no problem. But I can just about tolerate you… just about. Don't push me." I added when his eyes seemed to lighten up. He wasn't extremely attractive, but I liked his eyes. There was some sort of… wisdom in them. Something like the Emperor had, but less tainted. Far cleaner. Then I remembered where I saw it for the last time. It was similar to the glint I saw in the eyes of the Jedi Council. Not quite that degree of it, but close enough.

"Yoda will always be with you." I jumped and whirled around, whipping out my blaster. I knew Jedi considered ranged weapons to be crude and almost barbaric, but I still agreed with the Emperor on one thing – use whatever you can. The problem was I didn't see anyone. The voice was familiar… but I couldn't put a face to it.

Skywalker also turned around, to someone I couldn't quite see and…

"Obi-Wan!" he called out, gazing at a random spot of the bushes. I blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Skywalker, I knew you were nuts, but this is a little too much." I noted, holstering my blaster. Skywalker seemed to snap out of his trance, looking back at me. He was confused – I could tell.

"You… don't see him?"

"I see a mad farmboy talking to a bush, thinking it to be a long dead Jedi Master." I snapped. But the voice still unsettled me.

"Then focus." Skywalker urged, "See through the Force."

I rolled my eyes, but glared at the spot, trying to imagine there was someone standing there. It took some effort and I almost stumbled when a presence appeared literally from nowhere, strong, piercingly bright and yet regretful and sad. And the glow formed a shape of a figure, a man whose features I eventually recognized. I have already met him. I knew I have. Because I finally could place a name to the face, the voice, the eyes. This was the young Jedi, eventually Master that had an important role in the memories I saw. This was the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi.

He looked very different from the last time I saw him – for one thing, he was dead. I knew he was dead long before this, of course, but this was… strange. I saw a dead person. One with the Force and yet his presence shone brighter than the others. Stronger. More powerful. More relevant. He was looking directly at me, smiling happily. It was rare smile, and I knew it. As if he knew something I didn't. Well, that was only natural.

Of course, it wouldn't be Skywalker if he wouldn't be the one to ruin the somehow perfect atmosphere, " Why didn't you tell me?" Tell him what? Oh, wait – he didn't know about Vader. Well, I would be outraged if anyone told me Vader was my father, so I can't blame him. The ghost… or apparition… or whatever Obi-Wan Kenobi now was approached us through the swamp. Skywalker continued scowling. "You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father." He did? Well, how better to encourage him to kill Vader? Way to go.

Obi-Wan sighed and sat down next to Skywalker (on a rotten log, I might add), almost wearily. He seemed to be dreading this moment. "You father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true... from a certain point of view."

Skywalker snorted and turned away, like a pouting kid, "A certain point of view!"

You know, I think I'm beginning to like Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." More than true. "I don't blame you for being angry. If I was wrong in what I did, it certainly wouldn't have been for the first time. You see, what happened to your father was my fault." There was a sad pause, during which I recalled my (or Yoda´s) memories of the man who used to be Anakin Skywalker. The good I sensed within him. But something was wrong with it from the beginning. Perhaps the Force wanted it to turn out this way. "Anakin was a good friend." It was hard to imagine for Skywalker – I could tell. The little perfect world he had conjured up, where his father was the perfect Jedi and a great hero came crushing down with the second the truth was revealed. I was unnoticed for the moment, but I continued to listen. "When I first knew him, your father was already a great pilot. But I was amazed how strongly the Force was with him. I took it upon myself to train him as a Jedi. I thought that I could instruct him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong. My pride has had terrible consequences for the galaxy."

There was a moment of silence. I was actually amazed. This man believed he was responsible for Vader… the Empire. And he accepted it.

"There's still good in him." Skywalker suddenly noted, quietly.

I couldn't just watch anymore – I snorted audibly, "Good? In Vader? Open your eyes, farmboy – there are only two completely heartless people I know in the galaxy – the Emperor and Vader. The puppet master and the puppet. Palpatine created Vader as the ideal of a Sith – no fear, no love, no weakness. Only anger. What do you think kept him alive? He already cheated death once!"

Obi-Wan nodded, "That's true. The suit… he wears it because he fell into a lava pit when we dueled for the last time. But then, it wasn't just an exercise anymore. I also thought he could be turned back to the good side. It couldn't be done. He is more machine now than man. Twisted and evil."

"I can't do it, Ben." Skywalker said simply.

"You cannot escape your destiny."

Skywalker shook his head, "I can't kill my own father."

I saw the look of sadness on the elderly Jedi's face. "Then the Emperor has already won. You were our only hope."

"Yoda spoke of another. And then Mara…"

"Wait a second, both of you." I said, raising my palms defensively. I finally got the attention of both men. "You can't kill Vader… and I can't kill Palpatine. I have a Force bond with him." I explained, earning a surprised glance from Skywalker and a knowing look from Obi-Wan.

He nodded, "So that is how he kept controlling you. He was always cunning. Our ignorance was our doom, it seems." the Jedi sighed, "The other he spoke of is your twin sister, Luke."

"But I have no sister." Skywalker noted bluntly.

"Hmm. To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born. The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason why your sister remains safely anonymous."

Skywalker shot a wide-eyed look at me. My eyes also widened when I realized what he might be implying, so I spluttered and shook my head. I actually shivered at the idea. That would be Palpatine´s ultimate revenge and the cruelest prank played on both me and Vader. Imagine that – father and daughter, hating each other for years, concurring each other for over a decade. Without knowing of their relationship. But I looked nothing like the man I saw in Yoda´s memories and I doubted the mother was by any chance a jade-eyed flame-haired redhead. But our personalities were similar – I guess that's why we viewed each other as rivals. But relatives? Me and Vader? That's just too far-fetched. I glanced at Obi-Wan, who smiled at me, almost fatherly. And from that, I knew that from no point of view was Vader my father.

Skywalker noticed it too and thought back for a second. I really saw the mental process on his face as he sorted out the facts, the possibilities and came to a solution. "Leia! Leia's my sister."

My mouth actually fell open when Obi-Wan nodded. There's only one Leia I know. What a dramatic soap opera my life's turned into. "Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit. But they could be made to serve the Emperor. When your father left, he didn't know your mother was pregnant. Your mother and I knew he would find out eventually, but we wanted keep you both as safe as possible, for as long as possible."

"Then it's clear." I noted, shrugging off the shock, "This calls for a suicidal redemption attempt, right?" I glanced at Obi-Wan.

He smiled, "You have more wisdom within you than one would assume, Mara."

"When you see through Yoda´s eyes and watch a few centuries of memories in a span of a few minutes, you gain some wisdom."

"He allowed you to see his past?" Obi-Wan repeated, with great disbelief. But he thought about it for a moment and smiled, "Yoda. He's a Jedi Master for a reason. The Jedi will live on through you, Mara."

"What?" I half-demanded.

"All the things you saw were Jedi teachings, missions… adventures, you might say." He explained, grinning slightly. "He imprinted them into your mind. You could be the key to the rebuilding of the Jedi Order."

Again, I raised my arm. "So I'm some sort of Yoda reincarnation now?"

His grin broadened – I think he likes my humor. "You could put it like that."

"I know nothing of Jedi. Nothing beyond basic facts anyway."

"Do you really? Then what is the Light aura emerging from your pouch?"

I took out the object I took from Yoda´s hut and unwrapped it – and my breath stopped. A perfect hexagonal object, with amazing ornaments, tiny rays of light emerging from it as it touched my palm. It reeked of the Force… the Light Side. I was finally able to recognize it. Skywalker gawped at it, but I recognized it clearly. A holocron. And it drew me to the power of the Light Side. So, even if I wouldn't admit it, Obi-Wan was right. If I were still the Mara Jade I was a few days ago, I would immediately destroy it or confiscate it for Palpatine. Now, it seemed spectacular. I understood how to use it, how to read from it, how to listen to its wisdom. The Light was open to me. And I was being draw to it, despite all my training.

"To be a Jedi, Mara, you must go beyond the Dark Side – a side Palpatine would never let you past. You now feel the Light as well… but the choice still lies in the future. You are much like Vader was… but you have more patience. I have faith in you, Padawan."

"Padawan?" Skywalker repeated, confused.

"The Jedi term for a student of the Force. It means "child of the light". Then I'll have to braid my hair." My hand almost flied to my mouth. Before Obi-Wan said the word, I had no idea what it meant. Now, it seemed to be the most natural thing in the universe. The elderly Jedi smiled. And you are a child of the light… you can find your way out of the darkness. That wasn't my thought… not really. Guess telepathy isn't only caused by Force Bonds. I actually smiled at him. I have no idea why – it just seemed appropriate. A moment's euphoria, probably. He told me I have a choice – he gave me hope.

I didn't hesitate this time. I owed this man something now. And I wanted to pay my dues. "Very well then. I still think I'm insane to agree to this, but I think I could help you a bit… with the Rebellion and all. No promises, though." I grinned when Skywalker´s eyes lit up. I wasn't swearing anything near a Wookiee life-debt to him… but I wasn't sure he realized that.

Obi-Wan smiled, but he spoke very calmly. "The final trial awaits you, then. Both of you. You must confront Vader and the Emperor. All depends upon that."

I nodded, "I second that. The second Death Star will soon be ready… and the Emperor will be there to see it done. I know that much."

"Do you know where it is?" Skywalker asked me.

"If the Emperor ever had a conscience, it would be me, farmboy." I joked. But I regained a serious face. "Yeah, that thing doesn't move too quickly. It's hidden well – orbiting the moon of Endor."

"Mara… will you come with me to meet the Rebel leaders? I'm sure Leia and the others will be grateful for any kind of information you can give them."

I sighed, "If they don't shoot me before that happens – I came here with that thing." I said, nodding to the landed TIE fighter.

Skywalker grinned impishly. I was surprised, really. He's capable of scheming? "Not when you're traveling with the farmboy who blew up the Death Star." He is. Not bad for a Rebel farmboy. A sneaky Rebel farmboy, that one.

"At least you're good for something, Skywalker. But they'll think I'm an Imperial spy that fooled the naïve farmboy."

"No one in the Empire knows about you, right?" I nodded, "Then I hereby declare you an escaped Jedi prisoner of the Emperor."

I rolled my eyes, "Are they really that stupid to fall for such a corny trick? Wait –" Skywalker was about to open his mouth, so he closed it again, "I rather don't want to know."

Obi-Wan held back a chuckle and Skywalker half-scowled. I was beginning to think that this… rebuilding the Jedi Order (or whatever they expected me to do) might even be fun.