Chapter 10b

Luke was furious. Raging mad, he ignored all his father's words as he jumped out of the speeder in midair, spun into his own Jedi flip and landing and ran home on his own. Vader could sense in the force Luke was not harmed, and that his mind was in turmoil. He cruised around a bit more, enjoying the city sights and fresh air, to give Luke time to calm down. Once he was home, Luke was still in a miserable mood. He went to his room and slammed the door. He lay there staring up at the ceiling, anger creeping into his every thought and move. What was he going to do now? He knew he was never going to be his own man, never going to gain the power and the fame he wanted, with his father like this. He wondered if it was hopeless to try to make Vader the evil, angry man he was before. Or was it useless, that man was gone, replaced by one who was even less dark than Anakin Skywalker had ever been. Vader had been through it all, and just wasn't interested anymore. He had changed. Luke had changed him, but Luke wasn't happy now. He felt the dark side boiling in him. He heard his father put away his speeder below the house and climb back up the stairs. Luke was there waiting for him. When he walked up to meet Luke, the younger Skywalker was brandishing his lightsaber. Vader was surprised to see this, and very crestfallen.

"Luke, I know you are displeased with me right now, but I know in my heart I did the right thing, and you will too someday, and you will thank me!"

"Thank you? For humiliating me in front of everyone in the city? You were never around when I was growing up, now all of a sudden you're mister righteous trying to be father, setting me straight? I'll not have it! I was so mad tonight, I should have taken you right there! If you aren't going to use your power to do what needs to be done, you will not stop me!" His eyes were full of hatred and too much anger, and appeared to Vader to be on the verge of going Sith. This scared him, and he ignited his own lightsaber, holding it ready. Vader had been in such a state of ecstasy, for some reason he thought Luke would share it, and had not noticed their relationship deteriorting to this lowly moment. He was deeply hurt, but couldn't allow Luke to see or sense that in him. He held out his red lightsaber, the one he had carried as Darth Vader, and offered Luke a deal.

"Perhaps we should trade." While he was only joking, Luke did not turn down the deal. He took the red one, and Vader took the green one. He waved it back and forth in front of his face, admiring the flourescent green glow. He smiled. "I always liked this one, you know. From the first time I saw it on Endor." He smiled. Luke didn't. "Luke, you don't really want to fight, do you? What, do you want to kill me? Do you want me to kill you? What's wrong?"

"Father, we are supposed to be ruling the galaxy. All you want to do is play around and be happy."

"Do you begrudge me that after all the pain of my life?"

"Oh give me a break. We have the power to make all the known universe our own. Sieze it now!" Luke raised a clenched fist. He was serious, but Vader could not help but laugh. He reminded him so much of him when he was young. He knew he had made mistakes, and he felt grateful for having a chance to atone for some of them. He did not want Luke making his same wrong decisions, and he wasn't shy about telling him so. He had actually become a father, a father figure, but not what Luke was looking for. So it all had come full circle. Luke had wanted to turn his father to the good side, and Vader had wanted to turn his son to the dark side. Now, they both had what they wanted, in the most ironic of ways, and now it wasn't what either of them wanted. Vader realized this, and laughed. Luke flew into a rage.

"Shut up, Father!"

Vader's smile disappeared. "Hey, what's going on here? It's not that bad, is it?" He just didn't want to believe it was, but searching his feelings, he knew it was. He felt the dark side in Luke, and it gave him a bad feeling.

Luke was very to the point. "Father, I am going out there, on the streets, in the buildings and take charge. I do not want you to follow me, lecture me, or try to stop me. If you do, you will be sorry."

Vader was hurt, but also angry. "If I want to stop you, I will. I can."

"Is that a threat?"

"Don't try me."

"Don't try ME!" Luke said, again igniting his lightsaber.

Vader did not ignite his. "I will not fight you, son."

"If you try to stop me, I will stop you. That is a promise. Do not follow me." Luke was not going to be denied. He tried to think, did he really want his father dead? No. He didn't want to take his life. Even if he did kill him, he'd just come back as a force ghost like Obi Wan and lecture him, and he'd be even more powerful at following him everywhere. That wouldn't do. But he did want to stop him. Luke's mind raced. What could he do? There was no way he could tie him up or restrain him, he would only use the force to break free. Even cutting off his limbs would not stop him, they were easily replaced. He had an idea, one that was evil, one he hated, but he decided to use it. There was one way that his father could remain alive but would be unable to chase him down, or fight him, or stop him. He stared his father straight in his face, and too full of the dark side, Luke's left hand released a blast of blueish force lightning.

Vader was so stunned to see Luke emit force lightning, he froze momentarily, and that was all it took to lose the seconds he needed to react. His usually quick reflexes were not put into action quick enough. Before he could ignite his lightsaber to defend it, the blue electricity shot right where Luke aimed it- into his eyes. Vader cried out in shock and pain. He fell back toward the wall and slid down. He rubbed his eyes and looked up, but he was blinded. No, this couldn't be, his eyes were like miracles, they had survived the lava and the fire at Mustafar. He had been so happy to be able to see without the mask, he just couldn't be blind, not now!. He kept thinking his eyes would soon adjust like they did with the sun when he left the hospital, or that he was just flash blinded and his vision would soon clear. But it didn't. Except for a few flashes of light around the edges, it was gone.

"Hahahaha! Let's see you follow me now! You have paid the price for your 'lack of vision' hahaha! So you're really on the 'dark side' now, is that dark enough for you? Tired of black? Too bad, that's the only color you're going to be seeing from now on! Muhahaha!" Luke was in a state of wicked ecstasy. He pulled out the picture of Padme and threw it on his father's chest. "There, take it, you didn't want to see it, now you'll never have to worry about that again!" Cruel as it was, it was true. Luke has purposely put out his father's eyes, then rubbed in his sadness over Padme. What was possessing this boy?

Vader was upset, hurt, and angry. He tried to get to Luke, grabbing into the empty air, but Luke easily dodged his blind wanderings. He tried to force choke Luke but he couldn't even see where to aim. Luke laughed and taunted him. Vader took one last lunge at Luke, and missed. "I HATE YOU!" He screamed after he fell flat on the ground, with all the emotion he had once screamed at Obi Wan on Mustafar. Luke just walked out the door, and down to take his pick of flying vehicles his father was now unable to operate. The best star pilot in the galaxy was grounded. All Vader could do was lie there and listen to him leave. He didn't even want to get up. He had lost his son, and his sight. He was once again miserable and lonely. His mechanical hands, though of the highest new technology, were no match for human hands when it came to relying on sense of touch. Vader was devastated. He hated being blind. It was much worse than not being able to breathe, and at that point, he'd have gladly traded back.

Luke, knowing his father could no longer stop him, took off into the night, and into the dark side.