A/N: Here it is - the long-awaited confrontation! Of course, this isn't the end, and it may not be quite as you have been expecting...hehe. Hope you all like it!

Stephanie C: Thanks, glad you liked it. And you can see in this chapter whether or not Luke joins them ;)
pokey: Thank you :)
Chou hime: Hi! Thank you so much :)
Princess-Aiel: Thanks, I shall
Snow Lepord: Wait no longer! Thanks for reviewing.
Hopeless4Life: Lol, thanks.
Miss.S.P: Thank you! Just a few more chapters to go.
padmenaberrie32: Oh, wow, thank you! I'm glad this makes sense :)
TriGemini: Well now, all your questions are answered in this chapter! Is is possible? Just read on ;) Thanks for reviewing - as always, you made me smile!
DarthGladiator45: Here's the V-P confrontation - the L-V one is sort of here, but sort of not. It's...guh, just read :)
Emerald Green Queen: Lol, glad you're happy to have her back. I do somewhat agree with you on Yoda...I suppose I just felt that someone should die, since I kept Obi-Wan. I don't know, I can't really explain my reasoning, but rest assured it makes sense in my head! Lol. Thanks!
Linwe-Amari: Oh gosh, don't die! You must live for this chapter! Thanks so much for reviewing :)
doreenthatshot: Thanks very much :) Yes ma'am, I shall update right away!

Chapter Sixteen

Luke climbed into the cockpit of his X-wing and switched on his comlink.

"Leia? It's Luke."

There was a bit of crackling, and then Leia's voice answered. "Are you coming back to base?" she asked. "We're going to move to Hoth soon."

"No, I'm going to Naboo," he replied.

"Naboo? Why?"

There was a pause. "I have to face Darth Vader."

"What? Why?" Leia asked, shocked. "Why must you confront him?"

Luke sighed. "Because…because there is good in him. I can't explain how I know, but I do. I feel it. And I can save him. I can turn him back to the good side. I have to try."

Silence. Then – "Be careful, Luke. And – and look after our mother. Make sure she's all right."

"I will," Luke promised, and he signed off.

Obi-Wan stepped up to the cockpit. "May the Force be with you, Luke." May it protect you.

The young man nodded in thanks, and then fired up his fighter. Seconds later he was off, speeding away towards Naboo.

Vader sped towards the lake retreat in the speeder he had 'borrowed' from the old man, Paddy. In reality, all he had had to do was state his destination and point a warning finger, and the old man had let him take it. He hadn't even needed to use Force persuasion or aggression. His own well-known, imposing figure was persuasion enough.

He quickly secured the speeder at the dock and took the steps two at a time. The thought of seeing her again, reasoning with her, simply talking to her, motivated him to move as quickly as he could. He left the top stair and moved forward onto the terrace.

And there she was.

She was standing with her back to him, in the same spot their wedding had taken place, leaning on the balustrade and staring out into the distance. Her clothing was simple, unlike the ornate gowns she had worn as queen or senator, and he could see the flecks of grey in her long hair. He breathed deeply the scent so familiar to him as his wife's, closed his eyes and felt her warm presence in the Force…

He stepped up behind her, close but not too close. "Padmé." It felt strange to say her name aloud again, yet the word fell as perfectly from his lips as it had so long ago, as if it had been waiting to escape.

She didn't turn at first. She knew that he was there before he said her name – she had felt it somehow, like a tiny ripple of darkness and light. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying silently for strength.

"Hello, Anakin," she said softly, and then she turned to face him.

"That is not my name," he replied, somewhat coldly…or maybe that was because of the way his voice sounded inside his helmet. "It holds no meaning for me."

She lifted her chin and tried to squash her fear. It seemed easier not to think of him as her husband while he had that mask on, easier to recall the terrible dark deeds Darth Vader had done in it, but she kept remembering the man behind it and the love she had felt – and still felt – for him. "If you are my husband, then that is your name."

He was silent, caught by her words. She looked away, uncomfortable under the gaze of his black mask. He didn't seem like her Anakin any more – but then again, when she had met him on Mustafar twenty years ago, he had been a different person. She had been afraid of him. And she realised that she was afraid of Darth Vader now.

"You've changed," she said simply, breaking the silence, looking back at him.

Her statement seemed to catch him a little off-guard. "Yes. For the better." She said nothing, only looked at him so disbelieving, so sceptically, that he felt he had to justify his words. "I am stronger now. More powerful. I know the truth and clarity of the Dark Side. And it was this path, this power that saved you."

"Saved me?" She gave a humourless breath of laughter. "You didn't save me, Vader." She spat out the last word like it was a curse.

"Yes I did. You were going to die, but I saved you."

Padmé was shocked at the certainty in his voice. He had not even been there when she gave birth, had not searched for her…Obi-Wan had told her that Vader believed that she was dead – yet when she appeared on the Death Star, he must have convinced himself that she was alive because of him. It was almost unbelievable.

Slowly, she shook her head. "No. You didn't. I almost died because of you." Her voice rose as her emotions took over. "Because of your choice, your path…I lost the will to live. I didn't want to live anymore because of what you did! And I would have died if it weren't for my children. You didn't save me. My children did. I only stayed alive because I had them."

Vader was stunned by her passionate speech. And for the first time since discovering she was alive, he began to doubt himself and his chosen path. Was what she was saying really true? Had he failed her? So many questions tumbled through his head. Why had the Emperor lied about Padmé's death? Had he known? If not, why hadn't he?

Padmé shut her eyes again, calming herself. "What do you want from me?" she whispered.

His flesh arm was trembling slightly, and he shifted. "I want you to come with me. I want you to bring our children to me. I want to live as a family, ruling the Empire. I want you to be with me again as my wife."

"Your wife." She opened her eyes again. "I am your wife."

"And yet you act as though you despise me."

"I don't despise you, Anakin. I despise Vader. I despise what has made you this way, the darkness that has twisted you," she replied calmly in a voice not devoid of emotion. "For a long time after the birth of the twins, I hated being your wife. I cursed my decision to marry you, because it was that decision that made you abandon the Jedi and destroy the Republic - turn your back on everything good and just. When you choked me on Mustafar, you weren't just hurting me physically. You broke my heart. I tried to tell you I loved you, but you called me a liar. The Anakin I married would never have doubted my love, and he would never have hurt me or broken my heart."

Vader made a move as if to speak, but Padmé continued as if she had not noticed. Now was her time to speak, to pour out everything she had kept hidden for twenty years.

"Then I had my children and my heart healed a little. I thought you were gone, and as hard as that was, it didn't hurt nearly as much as finding that you were alive and seeing what you've become. An entire planet was destroyed by your hand. Millions of innocent people were killed, entire species and ways of life lost forever. You even tortured your own daughter!"

"I did not know she was my daughter," Vader countered defensively.

"It doesn't matter!" Padmé exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "My Anakin would never have treated another life form so cruelly. My husband would never have killed so many innocents. He would not have turned on his family or destroyed the democracy we had worked so hard to build." She seemed to control herself and calmed a little. "But the saddest part is that even when I was choking, even when I heard about Alderaan, even when I saw my daughter's scars – I still loved you, Anakin. I will always love you." Turning her head aside, she drew a deep, shuddering breath and finished in a soft, broken voice: "And that is why I will go with you, even though all my logic screams at me to run away."

It took a few seconds for her final words to register, but once he had grasped their meaning, Vader stood taller in what Padmé took to be a posture of triumph, though she knew she had shaken him with her words. He extended his black-gloved hand to her, but she wasn't finished yet.

"I will go with you," she continued, "but I will not – I cannot – accept your path as my own. Do you remember what I said to you on Mustafar?"

Every word, Vader thought, though his memories only surfaced now. He had refused to think of that day for a long time.

"I told you that I would always love you, but you were going down a path I couldn't follow. And that is still true now. I will not betray the Alliance, and I will not bow to the Emperor – but I will go with you." I need to protect my children. I need to reason with my husband - and I can only do that if I win back his trust.

He lowered his hand, and narrowed his eyes behind the mask. Vader was not used to not getting what he specifically asked for any more, but when it came to his wife, he was willing to make exceptions – small ones. This was not the victory he had come for…but it was better than nothing.

"Very well," was all he said. He turned and began to walk back to the water speeder, and she trailed behind.

Suddenly, a shadow shifted, and Padmé saw a figure standing at the top of the stairs. It was Luke.

Vader halted at the sight of the young man. He knew instantly that he was his son – not only could he see his own features in his face, but he also felt his presence in the Force. He must have missed it when he was preoccupied with Padmé. Good. This made everything easier – he could bring Luke to the Dark Side now.

"So you have come to me," the Sith Lord said. Luke did not answer, merely gazing at the imposing figure before him. "The Emperor is expecting you. He believes you will turn to the Dark Side."

"I know…Father." The word was strange to Luke, yet having said it and kept under control, he felt calmer somehow.

"So you know the truth."

"I have accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father."

"Do not call me by that name!" Vader growled. With every mention of his former name, the part of him he thought he had defeated gained strength and threatened to break free of its shadowy prison. It would not do for him to remember that side of him – it may lead to regret. And a Sith Lord has no regrets.

"It is the name of your true self," Luke continued steadily. "You have only forgotten. I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it fully away."

Padmé's heart swelled with pride as she looked at her son, standing his ground calmly and without fear. He had become the kind of Jedi Anakin had been a long time ago. And yet her heart beat faster, and she prayed silently that he would be safe.

Vader shook his head. "Obi-Wan once thought as you do –"

"Don't blame him for your fall," Luke interrupted, stepping closer. "And I am not the only one with this conviction – my mother believes it too."

The Dark Lord turned to regard his wife for a moment. Her face was fearful, yet filled with determination and pride in her son. She wordlessly nodded her agreement with Luke. It was a tiny nod, but it was assent nonetheless. He turned back to Luke, choosing to push aside thoughts of his wife. "You don't know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master."

"I will not turn – you will be forced to destroy me."

Destroy… The word rang in Vader's ears. Padmé had reminded him of all he had already destroyed to reach this point. Could he destroy his son? Did he want to? He had sworn he would not fail again…but - he had already failed Padmé. What was one more sin in his already full book? It made no difference. He was already a lost man.

"If that is your destiny."

Padmé's eyes filled with tears. No…not Luke. Not my son. Please, Anakin, please…don't do this…come back to me…

Vader heard Padmé's pleas clearly in his mind, and he was momentarily torn. He loved her completely, and did not want to cause her any more pain…and he loved his son too…but he had chosen the Dark Side and he served his master. How could he turn back?

"Search your feelings, Father," Luke said,sensing what was going through his mind. "You can't do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate."

Vader let himself fall into the Dark Side, and its waves, although not as comfortable as they had been before, gave him dark focus and strength. "Someone has filled your mind with foolish ideas, young one. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now." He waved a hand and a pair of binders flew from his belt and attached themselves around Luke's wrists. He held out a hand and called Luke's lightsaber to him, placing it in his belt. "It is too late for me."

As Vader walked past him and motioned for them both to follow, Luke answered quietly, "Then my father is truly dead."

As soon as they entered the Executor, Padmé spoke up.

"Where are you taking us?" she asked Vader, resigned to her fate.

"In light of these recent…developments," the Dark Lord answered, "we will have an audience with the Emperor on Coruscant." The Emperor will make Luke see reason.

Padmé turned to her son and embraced him. "I never wanted you to get involved," she whispered sadly. "I never wanted it to come to this."

"It was not under your control," he said gently. "It was the will of the Force. There will be an end soon enough."

As he was taken away by guards, following Vader, Luke smiled a brave farewell to his mother and closed his eyes to meditate.

He would confront the Dark Side. And he would draw his father from it, or become one with the Force. Either way, he would defeat it.