Descending
Author's Note: This is dark, okay? I had wondered how Luke would have reacted if, on the Second Death Star, Vader had presented Luke with the choice of joining him and the Dark Side, or letting Sidious live. So, a darkness warning applies, I guess? Lol.
~ Amina Gila
The realization that his friends – that Leia, his sister – are really going to die sends Luke Skywalker over the edge. He gives in to the temptation, using the Force to call his lightsaber to his hand, swinging towards the Emperor. A red blade blocks his green one. Darth Vader. Of course, at the end, he would protect the Emperor, his master. Bitterness mingles with anger as Luke pulls back, willing to fight his father if it means he can kill Palpatine.
The red blade suddenly slips lower, severing the Emperor's hands in a lightning-fast gesture. Luke takes a step back in stunned shock as Palpatine cries out in pain. "Kill him," Vader orders, and there's no mistaking to who he's speaking. "Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends."
Luke's heart start pounding even faster when he realizes. This – this is the moment. He can either follow his father, killing the Emperor and dooming himself – any maybe the galaxy – as he and Vader take control. If he does, he'll be betraying every teaching that Ben and Yoda have given him. He'll be betraying them, too. But, if he doesn't, he'll have to fight Vader, maybe even kill him. Even if he doesn't – he couldn't bring himself to do that regardless – then he and his father will forever be on opposing sides. It's the Jedi way, but is it worth it? It is worth the pain and heartache that he knows they'll both have to endure?
"You will regret this," snarls the Emperor, glaring furiously at Vader, who ignores him entirely.
"The longer you wait, even more of your friends will perish," Vader warns, holding his lightsaber pointed at the floor.
Luke glances back at the viewport, flinching when another ship is blown up, the lives disappearing entirely. He wonders how his father can deal with it. How can Vader fight when he feels death so keenly, far more than Luke himself? Has he gotten used to it? Become accustomed to it? Luke doesn't know if he ever could take lives with such impunity and ease as Vader can and does. He doesn't – he doesn't want to be dark like his father, and yet…
He looks back at the Emperor, at the hateful yellow eyes staring at both of them. He senses, somehow, that Vader is holding the older man in place with Force, so that he's unable to lash out at them. Is it worth it to Fall if it means destroying the Emperor?
"It doesn't matter anyways," gloats Palpatine, "You have both lost."
Luke plunges the green blade into the Emperor's chest, yanking it back out and extinguishing it. He stumbles back, shaken at his own actions. It was a cold-blooded murder, one done out of hatred. This isn't something he can go back from. "What have I done?" he whispers, sinking to his knees and shaking his head. It was wrong, and he can feel the darkness so keenly now, calling out to him as the Dark Side reacts to his turmoil.
"You did what you had to do, my son," Vader answers, walking towards him and holding out a hand. "Join me," he requests, "And together we can rule the galaxy. I am Emperor now. There is no one who will be able to stop us. You have felt the power of the Dark Side, Luke."
"I'm afraid," Luke admits, wrapping his arms around himself. "I don't want it to change me. I don't –" He chokes on the words. "I don't want to be evil."
Vader makes a noise that sounds like a decisive scoff through the vocoder in his helmet. "The Dark Side does not determine who you choose to be. That choice is yours, and yours alone. I will help you. I will guide you."
It's an offer that Luke doesn't have the strength to reject. He knows he should, but… he cannot reject his own father like this. If he leaves now, he'll have to confront Vader again someday, and who knows how his father will feel? He'll be hurt, undoubtedly, by this second rejection. And Luke has only ever wanted to have a father, a family. If he leaves, he'll never get that, not with Vader. He doesn't want to give up on his father, either. There's still good left in Vader; Luke knows it. He's felt it.
Luke takes a shaky breath, slowly reaching out to take his father's hand, letting him pull him to his feet, forcing himself to meet Vader's eyes – not that he can see them – through the red lenses of the mask. "Yes, I will join you, Father," he agrees, hoping that he didn't just doom both of their souls.
He senses his father's satisfaction, his triumph, but he doesn't pull away. Somehow, he knows that Vader needs this moment, because it's important for reasons that he can't begin to understand. Maybe someday he might, but not now.
Vader is the one to let go of Luke's hand first, but he only steps closer, resting both hands on Luke's shoulders. It's a paternal, protective gesture, and Luke is suddenly hit by the desire to embrace his father. "Stop fighting the darkness you sense," Vader instructs, voice level as always. "It is a natural part of both you and the Force as a whole."
Luke struggles with himself for another moment, unable to stop himself from questioning and doubting his father's advice. Luke loves him, true, but Vader is a Sith. His perceptions of the Force and reality might be a bit skewed. Any more than yours are being a Jedi? Point. But, in the end, he gives in, just as he knew he would. This is what both Ben and Yoda had feared would happen to him. Even so, he finds that he can't regret it, not even as the darkness pours through him in a rush, filling him with a heady power. He feels, for a moment, that he can do anything, that they can do anything, the Dark Side whispering sweet, seductive promises to him.
And Vader was right. The power is there, but he's still himself. He can still choose, even if the darkness within him craves chaos, destruction, and pain. It's all about passions, and his love for his father is stronger than any other feeling he might have. Luke doesn't know how to express his thoughts, so he instead reaches out with the Force, touching Vader's mind and letting him feel the emotions, the love, the adoration coursing within him.
The gloved prosthetic fingers tighten, squeezing his shoulders before Vader lets go entirely, turning. "We must depart and return to Coruscant," he decides, beckoning. Luke fall in step next to him without a second thought, his mind briefly turning to Leia, hoping that she'll be alright. She's strong and independent. She survived years before they met, and she'll be fine. She has to be. Han and Chewie are with her. They'll watch over her.
"What of the people here?" Luke queries, knowing that all of them are not Imperial soldiers. Some are regular maintenance workers, conscripted by the Empire to build this monstrosity.
Vader's steps falter for but a moment. "I will order an evacuation. If you are correct about your friends' goodness, they will not harm their prisoners."
Luke holds back the words that want to escape, restrains himself from blurting out the truth that Vader's decision is not necessarily strategic. It's a testament to the goodness inside of him, and Luke swears to himself that he'll do whatever he must to ensure that his father is able to find his true self again, is able to find a sense of security now that the Emperor is dead.
Even so, he has no delusions that it will be easy. More than anything, he wants his father to be alright, to heal, and if that means not protesting if he chooses the Dark Side – even now – then so be it. Somewhere distantly in the Force, Luke thinks he can momentarily sense Ben's presence, sense the ghost's pain and resignation, but he lets it go. His place is here at his father's side, and nothing, nothing will change that.
They have each other now, after so many years of having no one. They don't need anything else. And yes, they will continue to rule the Empire – at least they will unless Luke can convince Vader otherwise – though he imagines their rule will be far better.
Vader gives the orders to evacuate and surrender to the Rebel Alliance, while he and Luke leave in a shuttle to rejoin the Executor, Vader's flagship, and return to Coruscant.
"It is time to claim our Empire," Vader says when they're in Luke's quarters hours later.
Luke lets his lips quirk into a dark smile. "Yes, Father," he agrees, "It is."
Father and son. Master and apprentice. They have no need for roles with each other. They are together – even if they are dark – and it is enough. For both of them.
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