Part V – Falsehood

For a long, tense moment the two women waited, staring into the depths of the chasm, silently hoping for any sign of life. Luke couldn't die! He had to survive. He'd always been so lucky – during the Battle of Yavin, the evacuation of Echo Base, his encounter on Bespin, facing down the Emperor over Endor… He couldn't have survived so much, only to fall to his death or be devoured by a dragon!

At last something stirred in the haze, and the dragon circled upward, claws empty. Had Luke survived and managed to hide? Or had the beast already eaten him?

"You know Luke?" Jenny asked at last.

Leia turned to face the elf child. "YOU know Luke?"

"Oh yes. He played the game a while ago. I wasn't his Companion, but…" She smiled fondly. "I always thought he was so handsome. And nice too. I sure hope he's okay. How do you know him? Is he a friend of yours?"

"He's… he's my brother."

Jenny's mouth formed an O of surprise. "Wow! I didn't know Luke had a sister!"

Something else came rocketing down from the sky – an armored human equipped with some sort of jet pack. The man touched down and gave Leia a baleful glare.

"Boba Fett?" she said in surprise. She'd thought the man as good as dead, devoured by the Sarlaac…

"Princess Leia Organa," he snarled. "I just keep meeting everyone I hate here."

"Who's Boba Fett?" Jenny asked.

"No one we need to get involved with," Leia told her.

"Why not? He doesn't look that bad. And he fought off the rocs…"

The dragon landed some fifteen meters away, its fanged mouth gaping open and panting. It looked rather worse for the wear – the rocs' claws and beaks had torn great rents in its scaly skin and wing membranes. Leia raised her club again in case it decided to attack them, but the beast seemed too exhausted to notice them.

"Where's Luke?" Jenny asked.

Luke! Leia edged toward the canyon. How deep was this chasm anyhow? Could they climb down and search for him? She couldn't accept the possibility that he was dead…

"You won't find him there, Princess."

She whirled at that unfamiliar voice.

The dragon was gone. In its place was a kneeling man in tattered brown robes, fresh scratches streaking his face and arms. He got to his feet with a wince and turned to face her.

"Whaddaya mean he's not down there?" another voice demanded, and a woman appeared out of nowhere next to her. "You're Luke's Companion! You were supposed to catch him!"

Luke's Companion! Shame inundated her. Of course Luke would also be playing the game! He had a copy of it as well, didn't he? And she had just botched his Companion's rescue efforts…

Shock replaced shame, and for a moment she felt rather light-headed. The game… she was no longer playing the game, she was IN the game… it was real, every aspect of it…

"Leia!" Jenny exclaimed.

The dragon-man moved fast, swiftly coming to her side and catching her arm to steady her. "It's all right, Princess Leia," he assured her. "It's always a shock coming in your first time."

"It's real," she murmured. "It's really real…"

Jenny smiled. "You came into the game, Leia. Now you can truly play the game."

Leia shook her head, trying to comprehend it all. She had just crossed into some alternate world, some world governed by laws and forces she couldn't begin to understand. She was here, and so was her brother…

"Where's Luke?" she asked, turning to the dragon-man.

"He is gone," he replied. "Back to your world."

"What does that mean?"

"It's impossible to die in the game," Jenny replied. "If something happens that would otherwise kill you, you just get sent back to wherever you came from."

A great wave of relief swept through her. "Then he's fine."

"Yes," the dragon-man replied. "The fall should have killed him, but it didn't. Instead of hitting the ground and dying, he simply crossed back through the barrier between the galaxy as you know it and Xanth. He will be free to play again, however, if he wishes."

"So that's the way out," Fett noted. "I should have just let the blasted roc eat me, then."

"Oh, stay in the game!" the woman encouraged. "We can have a lot of fun together, you and I." She inhaled, making the front of her dress stretch its seams dangerously.

"Drop dead," Fett snarled.

"Demons don't drop dead," she retorted.

"Shut up, both of you," the dragon-man ordered. "Fett, like it or not, Mentia is the closest thing you'll have to a Companion now. She can help you through the game. Mentia, like it or not, you've chosen to get involved in the game and can't back out now. Help Fett reach the Good Magician's castle."

"Who says I wanted to play?" Fett hissed.

"Just because a Player cannot die in Xanth doesn't mean the experience of leaving Xanth through 'death' is pleasant," he pointed out.

"But aren't you coming with us?" demanded Mentia.

"I was Luke's Companion," he replied. "And now that he has lost the game, he must start over. And I must be available as a choice if he does elect to play again."

"I think it's favoritism, that's what I think," Mentia humphed. "He can be a Companion to his son, but not to anyone else…"

Mentia's remark stunned Leia. Luke's father… but he had told her that his father – THEIR father – was Darth Vader… and Darth Vader had died a year ago. How could this man be…

The dragon-man read the shock on her face and extended his hands. "Leia, it's all right. You have no reason to fear me. I am Darth Vader no longer, but Anakin Skywalker."

Then it was Vader. Somehow, Vader had come to Xanth as well.

"Stay away from me," she ordered, raising the club again.

"Leia!" Jenny exclaimed. "He's not going to hurt you!"

"You don't know him, Jenny!" Leia retorted. "He's a monster, he's evil, he's a killer…"

"He isn't!" Jenny protested. "I do know him, and he's good! I was his Companion once, and he saved my life. And he helped defeat the evil Magician Darius. How could he be evil?"

Jenny knew Vader? And Vader had played the game at one point? Did the irony of it all never end? And how did Vader end up in Xanth as a Companion in the first place?

"What's going on here?" Fett demanded.

"That's what I wanna know," Mentia added.

Anakin – Vader – whoever he was sighed deeply. "Jenny, Fett, and Mentia, Luke is not my only child. He had a twin sister, and she stands before you right now."

Jenny gasped, Fett muttered something unintelligible, and Mentia gave a loud whoop.

"That must have been some signal you sent the stork!" the demoness exclaimed in a congratulatory tone.

Anakin rolled his eyes.

"He's not my father," Leia protested. "My father was Bail Organa…"

"Leia, you cannot accept Luke as your brother without accepting me as your father," Anakin told her gently. "I'm sorry, but it cannot work that way."

She lowered the club, still staring at the man who had once been Vader. Stang, he looked so much like Luke. They shared those penetrating blue eyes, those roguish features, and that dark blond hair. There could be no denying that he was Luke's father… and hers. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about that fact – or forgive him of everything he'd done to her.

"I want you to leave," she told him. "Go back to wherever it is the Companions go. Fly or teleport or whatever it is you do. Leave me alone."

Disappointment clouded his eyes. "I hope, my daughter, that someday we can repair our relationship. But for now, it seems you need a little more time to heal." He smiled unexpectedly. "You're like your mother, you know. And she waits to see you again."

Before Leia could ask him what he meant by that, he had taken on dragon form again. With a sweep of his wings he was airborne, soaring away in the direction she and Jenny had come from.

Fett stopped spluttering long enough to form a coherent sentence. "How many children does Darth Vader HAVE?"

"How should I know?" Mentia demanded. "None of 'em are mine, I know that much."

"I didn't know Luke had a sister," Jenny said happily. "This is wonderful!" Then she frowned. "But why do you hate your own father?"

Leia decided not to answer her. She had one goal in mind now – get out of the game. She had no desire to experience death in any form in order to escape the game, but she could track down the prize as quickly as possible, if nothing else. She had to get out of Xanth, away from Vader, away from the man who had caused her so much pain. She would confront Luke as well. After all this, she deserved an explanation.

"Sammy," she told the cat, "find the fastest way to cross this canyon."

Sammy meowed obediently, then loped to the edge of the canyon and sat down.

"The canyon's called the Gap Chasm," Jenny explained. "And somewhere there's an invisible bridge that crosses it. This must be the bridge."

"Then let's cross," Leia said, impatient to have the game over with.

"But the bridge might be out of order," Jenny replied. "It was the last time we tried to cross."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Um…" Jenny looked hopefully at Mentia. "Last time we played, Metria, you turned into a dust bunny and showed us where the holes in the bridge were…"

"I'm not Metria," the demoness shot back. "Metria got married, received a soul, and fell in love, in that order. I'm her worse half Mentia."

Fett shook his head. "I'll never understand this place."

"That's the one thing we have in common," Leia told him.

"Then can you help us, Mentia?" asked Jenny.

"Even if I were Mr. Fett's Companion – which I'm not – why would I help a rival Companionship win the game? It defeats the entire meaning of it being a game!"

"Help us cross the bridge, Mentia," Fett snarled.

"Don't think you can threaten me, scrap-bucket," she taunted. "Nothing can kill a demon."

"Could you work out a trade?" Jenny suggested. "If Mentia helps us, then Fett could give her something in return."

"Really?" Metria looked at Fett eagerly.

"Out of the question!" Fett exclaimed, taking a hasty step away from the demoness.

"I wasn't meaning that," Jenny replied. "I was thinking half your soul or something…"

"I don't want a soul!" Mentia snapped. "No self-respecting demon does!"

"Everyone shut up!" Leia shouted, her patience reaching the breaking point.

"He started it," Mentia whined.

"Did not," Fett rasped.

"You did too!"

"Did not."

Jenny giggled. "You two sound like a brother and sister fighting."

"Ewwww," Metria said with a disgusted look on her face.

When it became evident that those three were not going to quiet down anytime soon, Leia turned back to the canyon. Sammy gazed up at her expectantly, one paw raised to place on the bridge. She took a deep breath, then extended a foot.

/It's a challenge of faith/ she told herself. /You have to have faith that you can cross. Faith that the bridge is there./

Something took her weight – something that felt like a suspended wooden plank but was totally invisible to her eyes. Feeling a little more confident, she took another step, arms extended to either side for balance.

"Sammy, find any flaws in the bridge," she ordered.

Sammy darted across. The sight of a cat running on air unnerved her a little, but he seemed perfectly at ease, so she didn't worry too much over it. When he reached the opposite end of the bridge, he trotted back and uttered a negative sound, as if to indicate he couldn't find what she'd told him to find. Reassured, she bent down and scratched behind his ears before proceeding.

An ominous screech filled her ears, and Sammy yowled.

"Leia, look out!" Jenny cried.

The beast hurtling toward the bridge screeched again, and for a moment Leia thought it was another dragon. But this creature had two legs instead of four, and it didn't flap its membranous wings but glided like a child's paper starship. Its head bore a long sharp beak in front and a bony crest in back, and its entire body was covered in leathery reddish-brown skin. Beady red eyes fixed on Leia, and its beak opened like a giant pair of scissors as it dove.

"It's a tear-odactyl!" Jenny shouted. "Get off the bridge before it tears you apart!"

Sammy darted back to his mistress, but Leia took her chances and ran forward, hoping to get across before the creature struck. She didn't have enough time, though, and with a horrible swipe the tear-odactyl slammed its beak shut just behind her. The invisible ropes and boards of the bridge snapped apart, and she felt the bridge give way beneath her.

Instinctively she grabbed the portion of the bridge beneath her, hanging on for dear life as her half of the bridge dropped. The impact against the canyon wall knocked the breath out of her, but she hung on tight, and once she'd regained her breath she set to climbing to safety.

The tear-odactyl screeched again, diving toward her. Leia looked around frantically, seeking something, anything, to get out of this mess.

Just to her right, a scraggly bush sprouted from a crack in the rock, bearing glossy green leaves and nondescript black berries. When Leia extended a hand toward the bush, wondering if this was the key to some challenge, she felt a slight tingling sensation, as if the bush were charged with static electricity. And when her fingers brushed the leaves, the bush retaliated by delivering an electric shock – not very painful, but enough to make her draw back.

The tear-odactyl was close now, and its eyes gleamed eagerly. Thinking fast, Leia reached over and tore a few berries from the bush, ignoring the pain. When the monster opened its beak to tear her in two, she flung the berries at it.

The effect was much better than she could have hoped for. Two of the berries landed on the beast, one on the edge of its wing, the other on its beak. The tear-odactyl screamed in pain as an electric current arced between the berries, and its body jerked in agony. The shock only lasted a few seconds, but that was enough. The flying beast took to the skies again, searching for less difficult prey.

When she'd finally climbed out of the chasm, the others had already made it to the other side – Mentia had simply teleported over while Jenny had somehow convinced Fett to ferry her and her cat to the other side.

"He's not that bad a guy," she told Leia. "Honestly."

Leia eyed Fett suspiciously. "I'm sure he didn't do it without some promise of payment."

"Well… it seemed only fair," Jenny acknowledged. "I gave him a flute."

"A flute?" Leia repeated.

"It's a magic flute," Jenny told her. "It can be used to summon the imp army of the village of Imp Ire. They're great fighters, and Fett may need their services sometime during the game." She motioned for them to continue. "Shall we find a campsite? It's been a long day, and I'm sure we can all use some rest."

"I say we go on," Fett snarled. "The sooner we get out of Xanth, the better."

"Sounds good to me," Leia agreed. "What can we use as a light source?"

"Taken care of," Mentia chimed, and within a fraction of a second she'd taken on the form of a glowing insect. "Forward march!"

As they proceeded down the path, Jenny flashed Leia a congratulatory smile. "Good job facing the tear-odactyl. I wouldn't have thought to use a current bush to fight it."

Leia didn't answer. Her entire attention was focused on the path ahead – and whatever puzzle they would need to solve next. Her only goal was to leave this place, and fast.

Break…

Anakin couldn't help but feel somewhat depressed as he glided over the darkened land of Xanth, occasionally exhaling a blast of fire to light his way. He had hoped Leia would be at least somewhat receptive to him. But it was not to be. She hated Darth Vader – and had every right to hate him – and that hatred was not something that could be easily quenched.

A black shadow darted through the trees below – a night mare running her appointed rounds. He did feel sorry for his daughter, having to unexpectedly face the source of her own nightmares just after seeing her brother fall to certain death. She had lived a hard life – watching her planet be destroyed at the whim of a sadistic Grand Moff, being chased from one backwater world to another by the Empire, being separated from her beloved… and many of those trials had been caused by her own father.

Hopefully Luke could reach her when they next met, be it within the game or without. She needed to heal, needed to find a way to let go of her anger and hatred. The last thing he wanted was for one of his children to follow in his footsteps, a slave to their own fury.

When he landed in the Companions' meadow, everyone was asleep. He counted the slumbering forms and identified them, searching for any unfamiliar faces. The lone stranger in this group was a young girl, either human or a werebeast of some kind. For a moment he considered waking her to become acquainted with her, but he decided against it. Instead, he made himself comfortable and curled up to sleep. When outdoors, he preferred sleeping in dragon form – if he was awakened by some danger, he would be better prepared to face it.

WAKE UP.

The other Companions groaned and struggled to their feet, grumbling.

WAKE UP AND SHUT UP, Demon Grossclout ordered. IT IS TIME FOR THE SELECTION OF THE FALSE COMPANION.

"In the middle of the night?" moaned Nada Naga, uncurling and assuming human form.

TRY NOT TO LET THE MUSH IN YOUR HEAD SHOW, he thundered. A PLAYER IS COMING. YOUR NEEDS ARE SECONDARY TO THE NEEDS OF THE PLAYER.

Anakin got to his feet and resumed his human form. The unfamiliar girl gasped when she saw him change shape, and all traces of sleepiness left her face.

"You're a weredragon?" she inquired hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Anakin replied. "My talent is the ability to assume the form of any flying beast."

"Oh, wow!" she marveled. "My name's Becca Weredragon, and I'm so happy to meet you!" She altered her form to that of a green-and-purple dragon as if to prove her background.

Anakin smiled sadly. "I hate to disappoint you, Becca, but you're a little young to be thinking about a husband. And besides, I am already married."

"Oh," she replied, crushed, and she resumed human form.

"I'm very sorry," he told her, "but Xanth is vast. There are other weredragons out there. I'm sure of it."

ENOUGH GABBING, demanded Grossclout. IT IS TIME FOR THE SELECTION OF THE FALSE COMPANION.

Anakin closed his eyes, wanting this over with quickly.

THE SELECTION IS – NOW.

YOU.

Only intense self-control kept Anakin from shouting in denial. No! Not him!

The others looked around, puzzled, as if hoping to see some sign of who had been selected. Keeping his face neutral, Anakin did the same, though inside he was in turmoil. Why had he been selected? And why now? Common sense told him that the selection of who was True and who was False was entirely random, but something Jenny had told him two years ago nagged at him – that few things in Xanth were truly random.

Another, far different voice entered his mind. While Grossclout's voice was deep, thunderous, and threatening, this one had a pleasant tone and accent and spoke with the easy, convincing manner of a lawyer or politician.

YOU WILL RECEIVE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS, it told him. YOU WILL OBEY THESE WITHOUT QUESTION.

/I can't/ he protested. /I have betrayed enough people in my life! I won't do so again/

YOU WILL OBEY WITHOUT QUESTION, the voice insisted calmly. THERE ARE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU CHOOSE TO DISOBEY.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to accept defeat for the moment. /Understood./

GOOD. VERY GOOD.

"Here comes a Player," Grundy noted. "Better go do my job."

Anakin held his breath as the screen materialized. Let it be anyone else but Luke, let it be some clueless soul from Mundania or reckless youth of his own galaxy…

"Hi, Grundy!" Luke exclaimed, his face appearing in the screen. "I'm coming in, and I'd like Anakin Skywalker as my Companion, please."

Anakin wanted to scream. Oh Luke – good-hearted, trusting, blindly faithful Luke, still as naïve as ever after all these years. He hadn't even stopped to consider the possibility that his father might be a False Companion this time around, that perhaps another Companion might serve him better for this game. What had his son done to deserve this? Stang, he didn't need more treachery at the hands of his father!

"All right," Grundy said dejectedly. "Makes me wonder why I'm in the game in the first place, seeing as no one wants me as a Companion…"

"Maybe next time," Luke told the golem. "But right now I'd like to see my father."

Goody Goblin nudged Anakin forward. "Go on and see your son," she said with a smile.

He forced himself forward, forced his features to remain pleasant, locking his conflicted emotions away. "Luke, you had me worried."

"I'm fine," Luke told him. "I didn't even hit bottom. Hold on, let me get in."

The screen vanished, and Luke stood before him, looking just as he had before his untimely fall. Even the imps' sword still hung from his belt. He grinned and embraced his father.

Anakin returned the embrace, hating himself for this duplicity. How could he betray his own son? Yet how could he not? The rules of the game were clear – any Companion who neglected his duties, whether they were to protect their Player or to betray him, was subject to harsh penalties. But if following the rules meant hurting Luke…

YOUR SON WILL COME TO NO HARM, the voice told him. TRUST ME. IT'S JUST A GAME.

True, as far as that went. But how would his son react when he learned his own father had knowingly betrayed him? And if that betrayal resulted in some sort of greater loss… if another demon's wager rode on this game… what effects could that have on the universe in general?

A wildly hopeful thought came to his mind. What if…

IF YOU TELL YOUR SON YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS FALSE, the voice snapped in a harsh tone, making Anakin wince, YOU WILL BE FOUND IN CONTEMPT OF THE RULES AND PUNISHED. YES, I HEARD YOUR THOUGHTS, SKYWALKER. TAKE CARE TO MIND THEM FROM THIS POINT FORWARD.

"Father, are you all right?" Luke asked, pulling away.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Leia has me a little concerned, that's all. She didn't take too kindly to my presence."

"I'm sorry," Luke replied. "Maybe if we hurry, we can track her down. Maybe it's time we had a family talk."

"Yes," Anakin acknowledged. "Maybe."

"Then let's go," Luke suggested. "Take the air route again."

"Very well." He took on dragon form again, and Luke mounted. With a sweep of his wings he was airborne.

/I'm wearing a mask all over again/ he thought privately with a mixture of despair and anger. Death in the Galaxy Far, Far Away had freed him of the steel mask he had so hated, but the knowledge that he was to be a False Companion had forced him to don another, even more abhorrent mask – that of deception. And the worst of it was that he couldn't even confide in his son!

With a gusty sigh and a blast of fire, he set off for the Gap Chasm, where they had left Leia. Let this be over with quickly. There was always the chance that Luke would make another error that would cause him to be pulled from the game. Perhaps he could somehow get out of this without actually betraying his son.

He could only hope.