Hey guys! I'm back. I've been balancing school and fandoms, and it's pretty hard.

You guys should also all check out Women of the Galaxy - it's not only for women, though! It's a great reference book for Star Wars, and the art is spot-on. Also, the author Amy Radcliffe is obsessed with Ahsoka, which is awesome because I am too. Go check it out!

This chapter is dedicated to Stan Lee, who passed away yesterday morning at the age of 95. I can't believe that he was still doing cameos at his age, and he inspired so many people to write and read comics, including myself. My journey through the sci-fi/adventure community was cemented by Marvel movies, and I'll always remember that the first fanfic I ever wrote was an Avengers story. He will be missed, especially in upcoming Marvel movies. EXCELSIOR!

"You know, I guess one person can make a difference. 'Nuff said." - Stan Lee, Spider-Man 3.

(Published 11.13.18)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Comfort and Captivity

3 BBY

"Leia!" Luke called, speed-walking after his… his twin sister.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled, not turning backwards.

"Leia, listen to me," he demanded. "Why are you angry?"

She swerved around, stopping Luke in his tracks. He could see small tears running down her face. "How are you not angry? I just found out that I have a brother, and that we were separated at birth!"

"It's not their fault, and it's not my fault either," Luke insisted. "If anyone is to blame, it's the Empire. They forced our parents to separate us."

Leia continued as if he had never spoken. "And my teacher, my favorite teacher, turns out to be my mother? She was hiding there, in plain sight, not telling me anything. Not even that she was the famous senator, the senator that I looked up to for years. There she was." Her voice had grown quiet, and a simple fire burned in her eyes.

She turned around to leave, but was cut off by the Wookie Chewbacca, who was coming out of the Millennium Falcon.

Leia's nose crinkled in disgust. "Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?" She stormed out of his path.

Chewbacca roared at her, causing Han to peek out.

"We just got our payment and we're ready to head out to Lothal. Who was that?" he asked with disdain.

"The princess of Alderaan," he simply said.

Han sat himself up on the wall. "You don't sound so sure about that, kid."

"I kind of just found out…" Luke's voice cracked. "She's my sister."

"Your sister?" Han exclaimed. "I met you father, and I met her father, so how does this work? Adopted, or - "

"Yeah, Leia's adopted. She was adopted by Bail Organa and his wife. She's my biological sister with my father and my mother."

"Huh," Han said. "That's new. I'd never have thought…" He paused and grinned. "Anyway, kid, if you ever need my help, here." He took out a small comlink and handed it to Luke.

"What is it?" he asked in surprise.

"Two-way comm."

Luke was about to give his thanks, but he stopped himself. "Wait. Why are you giving this to me? You said that you weren't getting involved with this Rebellion stuff."

"Well," he replied embarrassedly, "I guess I've taken a liking to you. See you around, Luke."

"Yeah," Luke smiled. "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime. Give my regards to the old men."

Chewie growled a goodbye and with that, the two of them got back onto the Falcon.

"He seems like a good guy," Luke said to himself. "Wonder where he comes from, though."

Leia collapsed in a guest bedroom, breathing heavily. Tears no longer fell down her face, but she was still hurt.

She had fallen and scraped her knees many times as a child. She had even broken her leg once rolling down a hill into a bunch of rocks (it turns out Threepio wasn't the best guardian).

But this was nothing like that. Everything hurt. She didn't feel pain. But somehow, it hurt.

"Leia." It was a voice that she wasn't familiar with, a voice that she had just recently met. Not Luke, not Ellé - sorry, Padmé - but instead, her father. Her birth father. "Leia, I know you're upset - "

"Please leave me alone," she begged, not looking him in the eye.

His voice grew grim. "No."

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"I said, no," he demanded. "No, I won't leave you alone. For years, I asked people to leave me alone. I asked my Master to leave me alone, but that was because I felt like I couldn't talk to him. I was making myself believe that I could put the blame on him, but I was internally blaming myself."

"What were you blaming yourself for?" Leia inquired softly.

"To become a Jedi, I needed to leave my mother behind. The Jedi had very strict attachment rules, to put it lightly - "

"I know."

Anakin didn't even want to ask how she knew something like that. Probably Ahsoka. "Anyway," he continued. "I worried about my mother. I didn't want her to be alone, so I guess I kind of closed myself off sometimes. It's not the best thing to do."

Leia spoke after a few seconds. "What happened to your mother?"

He hung his head. "Ten years after I left, I began to have dreams of my mother dying. I believed them to be prophetic, but everyone else doubted me. I used a mission to protect Padmé as an excuse to go to Tatooine, my home planet, and try to find her. Your mother insisted on coming with me. Anyway," Anakin chuckled, "we discovered that she had been sold to a man named Cliegg Lars and she had eventually married him. He had a son, Owen, and Owen had a girlfriend named Beru. But…" His voice cracked.

Still not looking straight at him, Leia said, "You don't have to go on if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine. There had been an attack. They took my mother captive. By the time I got there, it was too late. I did something... terrible after that."

Leia realized with a start that this woman would have been her grandmother. "I'm sorry."

"I've confronted my mother's death since then, and come to peace with it. Plus, I married your mother a few days later, so something good must have come out of it. I stopped being alone after that, and I opened up to people like Padmé, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, although not about my marriage, obviously."

Leia got the strength to look up. She finally took a good look at Anakin… her father. Curly golden hair framed his face with a few gray streaks. A scar ran down his right eye, and the eyes were sky blue. Luke really did take after him.

"Where did you get the scar?" she found herself asking.

Her father laughed. "Well, that's a funny story, actually. It all started with an assassin named Asajj Ventress…"

"I never knew what happened to my mom, you know," said Luke, causing Padmé to turn around quickly.

"What?"

"Dad didn't bring you up, and when I asked, he said 'lost.' I never knew what that meant. I still don't think I know what it means," Luke said.

Padmé slowly approached her son, taking in the likeness of Anakin. "You certainly look like him."

"I know. Uncle Ben says that he wouldn't be able to deal with both of us if I was taller," he laughed.

"It's true, you've inherited my height," she said fondly.

Luke walked closer to her, and she was surprised to see that he was almost taller than her. After a few moments, he spoke, "I'm worried about Leia."

"I know, Luke, me too," she gently said, wrapping her arms around his head.

He loved it, and the feeling was mutual.

"Hey, Chewie, we're coming up on Lothal!" Han yelled from the cockpit of the Falcon.

The Wookie growled a question.

"We've got a job from this fellow Vizago. He's stationed on Lothal," he explained. "Getting past the Imperial blockade, and delivering to a contact back on Nal Hutta."

Chewie roared something that could be translated as: You gave the kid a comlink.

"Yeah, I gave him a comlink. What about it?"

Nothing. But if the Wookie could have smiled, he would have. Maybe the journey had changed Han…

The attitude didn't last long. A large rumble rocked the entire ship.

"Hey, Chewie? What was that?" asked Han as his companion arrived in the cockpit.

He shrugged and growled.

"I know, I know, I'm working on it!" he replied in frustration. He looked at a screen and his eyes widened. "We're caught in a tractor beam! But… who would want to catch us in a tractor beam?"

Chewie growled that a lot of people would want to catch them in a tractor beam, but Han scoffed.

"I mean, what's so important that they would use the tractor…" He trailed off as a shadow engulfed them.

Imperials! Chewie growled in distaste.

A voice with a Core world accent came through the Falcon's system. "Attention, Corellian YT-1300 light freighter. You are being taken in by the Galactic Empire for treason. Please do not resist arrest."

Han looked to Chewie. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

An angst chapter! Yes! Anyway, a bit lighter, with some bonding time. And what's gonna happen to Han?

I'll let you decide what to think. Please review - whenever I get an email, I'm hoping it's one of you guys. Thanks so much for the support!

BooksAreEverything3: So glad you're enjoying the story! It's always great to see a new reader. Hope this chapter is everything that you wanted!

May the Force be with you and God bless.

"What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a spaceship before?" - Stan Lee, Avengers: Infinity War

-HH