Well, since Chiara Sholuk asked me very nicely to update on Christmas as a present, I decided to do just that. So, here's 'Showdown, Part II', dedicated once again to all of my wonderful reviewers!
korrd: You're quite welcome, and Merry Christmas! Yoda, sadly, won't be appearing probably until Elena's around sixteen or seventeen. But I might change that. Thanks for reviewing!
Chiara Sholuk: Thank you! I'm glad you think I portray the Emperor well, I'm trying to get him as creepy as possible. Here's a present for you! Merry Christmas!
ShortOfDaybreak: What's going to happen next? If you read this chapter, you'll find out! Thanks for reviewing!
Angel Sanada: Don't worry about Elena, she'll most likely be just fine. Leia will be coming up in a few chapters, but I want to have Elena have some more bonding time with Vader. Thanks for reviewing, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Chapter 14? yeah, I think.
Elena stared at the Emperor carefully before answering, "Yes, I do. But then of course," she continued, brightening up considerably, "He isn't what I had imagined, but he's certainly a lot taller than I had expected. He helps me with my homework sometimes, and we like to fix ships together. You know, sometimes ships can be so hard to fix, I mean, just the other day, I tried rerouting the power on one of our speeders, and the whole thing shut down! They're SO frustrating," she went on, rolling her eyes.
That was it for the Emperor. "I see. You may go now," he said harshly, and turned his chair back towards the entrance.
Elena got up, bowed slightly, and said, "It was lovely chatting with you, Your Highness." She gave him a smile and swaggered out of the room confidently, only to find her father pacing anxiously out in the hall.
"Yo Pops, what's happenin'?" she asked casually, snapping her fingers at him.
Vader whisked around and stared at her. "Are you all right? What happened?" he asked hurriedly.
"Whoa, hold it, cool your cucumbers, Dad, I'm fine," Elena replied. "The Emperor got all snappy after I said told him about some problems with a speeder, and told me to leave. You can talk with him now if you want to."
He stared at her incredulously before entering the throne room. "I hope my daughter was not any trouble to you, master," he said to the Emperor.
"She is strong in the Force," the Emperor replied, "I wish for her to become a Sith. She must not become a Jedi. Though she does have a very talkative way about her."
Vader nodded. "Obi-Wan tried to take her," he confessed, "But my guards killed him before he had the chance."
Palpatine grinned. "Good, very good," he said, pleased, "At last, the Jedi are no more. Does your daughter know what transpired?"
"No," Vader shook his head, "I thought it of no consequence, since she does not know Obi-Wan at all."
"All the better for her," Palpatine continued, "Now, my friend, you may go."
Vader bowed. "Thank you, my master," he said, and turned around to leave the room. Thank the Force he doesn't want me to kill her, he thought thankfully, I wouldn't be able to do it. But I wonder if she will ever know who Obi-Wan is.
While he was pondering this, neither he nor the Emperor knew that a pair of sharp ears had heard the entire conversation from behind the other wall.
"Elena, let us go now," Vader said, walking out into the corridor.
She strode out from where she had been listening and plastered on a smile. "Sure Dad, I'm getting kind of hungry, anyways. Does he want you to kill me?" she managed to ask.
He shook his head. "No, he wants me to train you as a Sith," he said. "He doesn't want you to become a Jedi."
Elena looked down as they walked towards their speeder. "I heard what you said about Obi-Wan Kenobi," she confessed sheepishly.
Vader stared down at her. "So... you were eavesdropping?" he accused.
"If you want to put it that way, yes, I suppose I was eavesdropping," Elena said, and glanced up. "And I know that Obi-Wan tried to come and get me, and he got killed by stormtroopers. His lightsaber, no doubt, is right now hanging up on the rack, next to all the other ones you have." Her tone was emotionless, but inside, she was rather sad.
Vader sighed tiredly. "Why in Force's name do you have to be so smart?" he demanded, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"I guess I get it either from you, Mom, or both of you," Elena suggested.
"That's not exactly a good thing..." Vader broke off.
Elena smirked. "But Dad," she went on, "I've heard about Obi-Wan Kenobi before, but who exactly is he?"
"More questions," Vader stated dryly. "Very well. He was my old master and a Jedi Master of the Old Republic. At the beginning of the Clone Wars, he was given the name 'The Negotiator' because of his skills to talk with the enemy. His master was Qui-Gon Jinn, who was killed by a Sith lord called Darth Maul. Qui-Gon's dying wish was for me to be trained, and Obi-Wan kept that promise and trained me, even though the Council was not happy about it. In the end, though, he betrayed me and the Republic, and cut off my arm, my legs, and left me to burn on the planet of Mustafar. He came back to find you and train you as a Jedi, and he was killed."
Elena paused. "Were you sad when he died?" she asked softly.
"I have nothing more to say on the matter, he is dead and that is final; nothing can bring him back now," Vader retorted sharply, getting into the speeder. "It does you no good to dwell on the past."
"But what if it's a link to the future?" Elena questioned herself, climbing into the speeder. She kept her thoughts to herself during the journey home.
----
A full month had passed, and Elena was going to be fourteen in only two days. She was excited about it, but she wondered if her father was going to remember at all.
"Hey Dad, guess what?" she said, skipping into a controls room, where Vader was fixing some loose wires.
"What?"
"I'm going to be fourteen in two days!" Elena announced brightly.
Vader said nothing for a second. "And?" he finally said.
"And... this is my first birthday with you!" Elena continued, "We could do something... like go on a vacation, or have a party! Or, we could get one of those wicked cool Nubian fighters and paint it maroon! Those things sure are hot," she said wistfully. She had been wanting one for a long time now, ever since she was eight.
"Which Nubian fighters are you talking about?" Vader questioned, using the Force to call a wrench to his hand.
"Oh, you know, those old kind, the yellow ones, used around...say... thirty or so years ago. Didn't you tell me you flew in one of those once?" She asked, and used the Force to call a datapad to her. She then began writing particularly nothing on it, but was waiting for a response.
"Yes, I did," Vader replied. "But I have no time for a vacation, since I am on duty all the time, and I also have no time for parties. Sith lords do not throw birthday parties, or give out presents."
Elena looked down, extremely disappointed. "Oh. Okay then. Forget I said anything." She put the datapad down and walked out of the room, head drooped low.
Vader stared after her, feeling rather guilty. Ah, the joys of being a father, he thought dryly. A thought suddenly popped into his head, and he stood up and strode out of the room until he came to his hangar bay, the one with all the old ship models, most of them from the Old Republic era. His eyes rested on a certain starfighter, and he strode down quickly, a datapad clenched firmly in his grasp.
Elena trudged through the halls of the school, feeling let down.
"Hey, Elena, what's wrong, girlfriend?" Keira asked, coming up behind her.
She shrugged. "Ah, it's nothing," she lied.
Keira frowned. "Come on, let's go to class, I don't like seeing you when you're like this. Hey, I'll tell ya what, I'll even buy you a shake."
"With extra chocolate sauce?" Elena said hopefully.
Keira grinned. "You got it," she replied, and the two walked off to find the others before class started.
When history class came up, Miss Darcin spoke up and said, "Now, everyone, the day after tomorrow, we're going to do something special and exclusive. This is a once in a lifetime event, so you have to do well in class today. We are all going on a field trip to Lord Vader's palace."
The entire class gasped and began whispering, and Elena grinned at her friends, who smiled smugly.
A boy, one of the bullies in the class, raised his hand and said, "Do ya think we'll get to see Lord Vader himself?" he asked.
Miss Darcin shrugged. "I doubt it," she said, "He is mostly away on missions, so we probably will not get to see him."
"Aw man," the boy said, disappointed. "But where are we gonna be going, inside the palace, I mean?"
"To certain unrestricted areas that are only available to outsiders," Miss Darcin explained, "But even then, tourists are rarely allowed inside."
The class was ecstatic, and their whispering grew louder.
"Hey, Lana, is your dad home a lot?" Bece whispered to her from across the aisle.
Elena nodded. "Yeah, and this is going to be cool! The tour's gonna be on my birthday!"
"That reminds me, I've got to get you something," Mara said thoughtfully. "What did you want?"
Elena then proceeded to tell the girls what she had been wanting, and they promised to try to get some of the things.
"Um, Miss Darcin," Elena said, raising her hand.
"Yes, Elena?" Miss Darcin said, nodding towards her.
"My fourteenth birthday is going to be on the day of the tour," Elena continued.
Miss Darcin smiled. "Congratulations," she said, "This will be a special treat for you, then, won't it?"
Elena tried desperately not to burst out laughing, as did the other girls. "Uh...yeah, I guess it will be. A real treat," she muttered to the others, "I get to see my own home. Wow."
The girls laughed quietly amidst all the other talking in the room.
That chapster was a wee bit longer than some of the others. REVIEW as a Christmas present to me! Thanks!