Disclaimer: If I owned this, I would have a computer in my room but noo, I have to wait. Evil!
Chapter 7: Nightmares
Lila dimly felt the ship take off, but was too wrapped up to notice. She sat next to Luke in silence.
Obi-Wan was dead.
And what was worse, she couldn't even be sad because Jedi aren't allowed to be sad, and Lila just had to be a good little Jedi and follow the rules. She slammed her fist into the table and left. She made her way down the hall and sat against the wall to stew.
Goddamn Jedi Code, she thought. What was wrong with being sad? Jedi were supposed to accept death, but what was wrong with crying if it made her feel better and it helped her accept the fact that Obi-Wan was dead? Screw the Jedi Code, I am going to cry and master Yoda can go shove it up his ass. Old fool. Technically, these were the kind of thoughts that led to the Dark side, but right now Lila just didn't care. At least the Sith were allowed to express their emotions.
Her stewing was interrupted by something large hitting the ship. She ran down the hall to find Han and Luke running to man the ship's guns. Lila pushed Luke out of the way, muttering, "out of my way, farm boy. I need to hit something." Luke found another gun and strapped in.
Three TIE fighters came at them. Lila held her finger over the ignition. She waited until one was in range, then fired. She missed.
"They're coming in to fast!" yelled Luke. Several thumps later, during which the Falcon took a bit of damage, Leia's voice came out of the comlink. "We've lost lateral controls," she reported.
"Don't worry, she'll hold together," said Han. "You hear me, baby? Hold together," he muttered to the Falcon.
At that point, one of the fighters exploded. "I got him!" exclaimed Luke.
"Don't let it get to your head," replied Lila. A fighter again entered her view. This time, when she fired, it blew up. "Alright Han, your turn!"
The last TIE fighter came in quickly, but in the end a well-aimed blast from Han blew it to fragments.
"We did it!" yelled Luke. Lila threw herself out of her chair and went back to her spot in the hall.
She closed her eyes and let the tears seep through her eyelids.
Half an hour later, all cried out, Lila meditated. As she reflected on her extremely un-Jedi-like actions lately, she had an extremely detailed vision.
She saw a young woman, hooded and looking into space. The woman turned around. Darth Vader was approaching. "The Emperor wishes to see you, Lady Eris."
"As you wish." She followed Lord Vader to the Emperor's throne room. Kneeling before him, she awaited his command.
"Rise, Darth Eris." She stood.
"What is your bidding, my master?"
"We have recently heard rumors of a Rebel Base on the planet Hoth. I want you to investigate this gossip. Report back as soon as you can."
"What do we do if the rumors are true?"
"We shall attack with speed and surprise. Crush the Rebellion, Lady Eris. Make them suffer."
Darth Eris grinned evilly. "It will be as you say, Master. What of my brother and sister?"
"They are a part of the Rebel Alliance, and therefore useless to us. Kill them too."
Darth Vader stepped forward and spoke quietly so Lady Eris could not hear. "I have doubts about her ability to kill her former friends," he said. "Lila Skywalker could not kill them."
Darth Eris heard. She stepped forward angrily. "I am offended by your comparison, Lord Vader. Lila Skywalker was weak, a mere girl who was full of hesitance. Lila Skywalker would not have been able to kill them, but she no longer exists. I am Darth Eris. I will not falter in my mission to destroy the rebels. Lila would have paused. Lady Eris will not."
Holding her head up proudly, Darth Eris swirled her cloak about her and left, yellow Sith eyes glittering.
Walking down the hall, she met a commander. "Ready my ship," she snapped.
The man nodded fearfully. "Yes, my Lady. May I inquire as to your destination?"
"It is none of your concern," she said coldly. He bowed and walked off.
As she reached the hangar, she saw her fighter being prepared for a journey. Boarding the ship, she paused as the Force warned her of her approaching father. She kneeled at his feet.
"Lady Eris, how many times must I tell you? You need not bow to me."
"Forgive me, my Lord." Snapping out of her mockingly respectful tone, she advanced. "I am extremely disappointed that you do not think me ready for this. How many times must I tell you? I am not Lila Skywalker, the girl who was friends with traitors. Lila Skywalker is dead. I am Lady Eris, and I do not affiliate myself with scum like that. I serve only the Emperor and you."
"Now you are learning," Darth Vader said with approval.
"Yes, I suppose I am," she snapped, and boarded her Fighter. She did not look back at her father, nor did she salute him as she should have. She concentrated only on flying as she set a course for the ice planet of Hoth.
I will crush them, she thought. Every last one. No one will be spared. Obi-Wan was a weak old man. He did not know true power. Now I am stronger than he ever was.
And once I have ended the Rebellion, she swore, I will return to kill my master and my father. They underestimate me, I am strong enough. I will slaughter them, and then I alone will rule the Galaxy.
The vision changed. Now she walked through the Rebel base on the planet Hoth.
Many of the Rebels had left or were in their fighters. However, as Darth Eris made her way down the hall, she came across Luke getting ready to leave.
He didn't know she was there until she was right behind him. He turned around. She could feel his sudden fear and wariness. He reached for his lightsaber.
Eris spoke. "The Rebels are finished. Now you will die." Luke obviously still had doubts about if Lady Eris was really going to kill him, because he didn't move when the scarlet lightsaber was at his throat.
"Are you going to kill me, Lila?" asked Luke. Eris hissed with anger.
"That name is nothing." But even as she raised her weapon for the kill, she hesitated. This was Luke; they had fought together and laughed together. Did she really want to kill him? Was she really going to kill the boy who had been one of her best friends? Was she going to kill her brother? She abruptly turned off her lightsaber and walked away.
She passed by Leia, pressed up against the wall in terror. Darth Eris didn't even notice the woman she was supposed to kill. She had trouble getting back to her ship—her vision had suddenly gone blurry. The icy planet froze her tears before they even left her eyes.
Darth Vader was right. She just couldn't kill her friends.
Now Darth Eris was in a room with Luke.
"You should not have come," said Darth Eris, appearing behind Luke, blood-red lightsaber in hand. "Your foolishness will cost you dearly."
"I have come to see if Anakin Skywalker still exists." His blue eyes connected with her sickly golden ones. Her yellow eyes. Her Sith eyes. The piercing gaze made her turn away. "And I have come to see if Lila Skywalker still exists."
She laughed harshly. "Anakin Skywalker? You have come for Anakin Skywalker? Why?"
"I know there is good in him."
Lady Eris walked in circles around the room, laughing viciously until tears streamed out of her malevolent eyes. "Good in him! Good in him!" she stopped for breath. "Listen, you, Anakin Skywalker is dead. He was weak, full of compassion. He is gone. Darth Vader is strong. He killed Anakin Skywalker."
"That's what Obi-Wan told you." Luke seemed unaffected by her statement.
"Obi-Wan was an idiot!" she snapped. "But he was right. Anakin is dead."
"And you, Lila. I know there is good in you, too. You are not Darth Eris, you are Lila Skywalker; come back to the right side." She turned her back on him.
"That name means nothing to me. How dare you mention it!"
"So why don't you kill me? You didn't last time."
"Last time was a mistake. I was supposed to kill you. I disobeyed orders, and I was punished severely for my insubordination."
"So why don't you kill me now?"
"Because the Emperor wants to see you." She turned without looking at him and fled the room.
The scene changed yet again. Now Darth Eris was in the Emperor's throne room on the Death Star. Luke stood at the window, watching the space battle outside. The Emperor spoke.
"In time you will call me master."
"No. You won't convert me like you did my father and sister."
Darth Eris stepped forward. "Here's his lightsaber." She placed the weapon in the Emperor's hands and returned to her position beside the throne, next to Darth Vader.
"Ah yes, a Jedi weapon. It's much like your father's. Your sister also has a similar weapon. You must realize, they can never come back." He turned to Lady Eris. "The Rebels are trying to attack the shield generator on Endor. I want you to go stop them. Kill them all, and do not fail me this time."
"Yes, Master." She bowed and left the room. Luke watched her go with a sad expression.
The image shifted. Now the Dark Lady of the Sith was waiting in the main control room of the shield generator.
She stood in the middle of the room, ready for the Rebel attack. Her hood was pulled low over her eyes, her red lightsaber was ready.
Han Solo burst into the room, closely followed by Leia, Chewbacca, and the Rebel strike team. They stopped short when they saw her. Cautiously, Leia readied her blaster.
Slowly, savoring the moment, Darth Eris lowered her hood. "Lila!" gasped Han and Leia.
She ignited her crimson blade. "That name means nothing to me," she said icily. Leia pointed her blaster at her sister. "Are you going to kill me, Leia?" asked Lady Eris scornfully. The Rebels gasped as they saw her.
"Your rebellion has ended and your doom is assured," Darth Eris said. As if on cue, everybody fired at her as one. Easily blocking the shots, she sent them rebounding at the troops. She left Han, Leia and Chewbacca untouched. They raised their weapons.
"Don't shoot; I don't want to kill you with rebounded blaster shots. I want the enjoyment of personally removing your heads."
"Well I'm sorry we can't give you that pleasure," sneered Han. "We may not have Luke fighting you, but even a Sith can't survive a shot through her heart. We're going to kill you now."
"Oh, it's far too late for that," chuckled Darth Eris. Lunging forward, she stabbed Han in the heart. Whirling around, she blocked a shot from Chewbacca and sliced the Wookie in half. Then she approached Leia. Quickly demolishing her blaster, the Sith Lady looked her sister in the eyes. Yellow against brown, where it would have been, should have been blue against brown.
"I gave your boyfriend a painless death, because at least in the beginning he believed we would win," snarled Darth Eris. "But you—always so sure of your cause, always so confident that the Rebel Alliance would come out on top. I want you to suffer for your insolence, and I'm afraid you are quite powerless to stop me."
Instead of stabbing Leia through her heart, Darth Eris pierced her lung, allowing the blood to slowly suffocate Leia. Struggling to breathe, the dying woman looked at Lady Eris. "I thought you were my friend . . ." whispered Leia weakly. Her wound was quite clearly causing her pain. "Why . . .? Why did you do this?"
"I have seen through the lies of the world. I have chosen the right way, and you have chosen the wrong," said Darth Eris.
"You were a good person . . ." and with that, Princess Senator Leia Organa Skywalker almost-Solo died.
Another scene cut in. Now she was back on the Death Star, standing at the window watching the destruction of the Rebel fleet.
She glanced over at Luke. Tears were slowly rolling down his face as he witnessed the annihilation of his friends and mourned the deaths of Leia, Han, and Chewie. She returned to stand by the Emperor and Darth Vader.
Turning suddenly, Luke grabbed his lightsaber and lunged at Lady Eris. She quickly raised her scarlet blade to block his green one. Effortlessly she disarmed him, and reveled at the final expression of shock in his eyes as she decapitated him.
"You have done well, Lady Eris." Rising, the Emperor walked over to her. "Now the Sith shall truly rule the galaxy." As he approached, she whirled and stabbed him in the chest. And before Darth Vader could do anything about it, she killed him, too.
Darth Eris stood in the middle of the three bodies and grinned smugly at the notion that she and she alone now controlled the galaxy. The Dark Lady of the Sith had finally fulfilled her vow.
Lila snapped open her eyes in a cold sweat. What did this mean? She knew that the girl, Darth Eris, was her. But she would never work for the Emperor, never! She would never kill Luke, or Leia, or Han, or even Chewie! No! She would never, never, ever serve the Emperor!
"If I do nothing else," she whispered to herself, "I will not let this vision come true."
I wrote this whole vision AGES ago. I was originally going to Lila actually go to the Dark side, but then I realized all my lovely readers would kill me. So I had it all written out, but in the end I had to water it down to a vision. Damn.
Cowgirl4Christ: happy now?
jedimasterobi-wankenobi: she copes by flaming the Jedi code.
swpaintergal: we'll get there eventually, but how's this? Anyway, just wait till we get to ESB!
SwimAngel: Thanks.
WWMTgirl: heehee. 'ooh dear' indeed.
That's all, folks! (did you know that the Looney Toons creator has that written on his grave?)