Chapter 3 - Confrontation

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: There's still three more chapter and an epilogue left. ;)

~ Amina Gila


The elevator doors slowly slide open, revealing the Emperor's throne room. It looks just like it did in Luke's vision, and it unnerves him, even though he was already anticipating the scene. He can sense the aura of darkness surrounding him, setting him further on edge. The Sith Master is up there, waiting for him. That's not disturbing at all.

The Emperor turns his chair away from the large window behind the throne overlooking the space above Endor to face them as they ascend the stairs.

"Welcome, young Skywalker," the Sith Lord rasps, "I have been expecting you."

Luke stares back at him silently, a threatening glare in his eyes.

The Emperor's gaze flickers to the binders on his wrists. "You no longer need those." He moves his hand slightly and the binders snap free, clattering to the floor. "Guards, leave us."

The guards standing on either side of the entrance step away, disappearing from sight behind the elevator. "I'm looking forward to completing your training," he continues, yellow eyes gleaming at Luke. "In time you will call me Master." He's too overconfident. Hopefully this will work to their advantage.

"You are gravely mistaken," retorts Luke, "You won't turn me like you did my father."

The Emperor rises to his feet, slowly approaching them, a malicious smile twisting his lips. "Oh no, my young Jedi. You will find it is you who are mistaken about a great many things." Luke again opts not to respond, forcing his mind away from thoughts of his and Vader's plan. The Emperor does not need to sense that anything is amiss before they carry out their attack.

"His lightsaber," Vader intones, holding it out to the Emperor who snatches it away with relish.

"Ah, yes, a Jedi's weapon." He states the obvious, glee twisting his features. "So very much like your father's. By now, of course, you must know your father can never be turned from the Dark Side." Too sure of himself. Luke is confident the Emperor is wrong about that. Vader has already made a pact to betray Sidious, to keep Luke safe. "So will it be with you."

"You're wrong," Luke asserts, his gaze firmly fixed on the Emperor. "Soon you'll be dead, and the Death Star with you."

The Emperor cackles. "Perhaps you refer to the imminent attack of your Rebel fleet?" More like — he quickly cuts off the unfinished thought. But how did the Emperor know about the rebel attack? He doesn't quite manage to dampen the surge of fear. Leia. Han. Chewie. Lando. All his friends. They have to be alright. He'd never considered that by joining Vader to destroy Sidious, he would leave them extremely vulnerable to attack.

The Emperor clearly senses his alarm. Apparently, his reaction was more obvious than he realized. "Yes," he gloats, "I assure you we are quite safe from your friends here."

Vader glances at Luke for a moment, as if in silent communication, telling him to wait and do nothing as of yet.

"Your overconfidence is your weakness," Luke retorts.

"Your faith in your friends is yours," the Sith Master counters, turning and striding back to his throne before sitting down.

Luke shifts uncomfortably, tensed for action. "Patience, my son," Vader's voice echoes through their bond, the thought likely carefully shielded from Sidious. "You must remain calm." Luke forces himself to relax and focus solely on the presence of his father next to him. They'll be fine. They're doing this together.

"Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design," the Emperor insists. Or has it? "You friends up there on the Sanctuary moon," he motions out the window towards the bright dot in the sky of Endor, "Are walking into a trap. As is your Rebel fleet. It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops await them."

Luke draws in a sharp breath. This was a trap. If only there was a way he could warn them. But now, there's nothing he can do. He can only focus on dealing with the Emperor. After that, there might be a chance for him to warn his friends, but he doubts it. They're probably already nearly here. By the time the fight is over, it'll be too late.

Luke's gaze darts to the lightsaber on the arm of the throne before glancing over at Vader. The cyborg gives no indication that it is time to act, so he does his best not to react. His father did warn him that Sidious would try to manipulate his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm afraid that the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive," Sidious gloats, "Come, boy. See for yourself."

Luke slowly approaches the throne, looking out the window at the sky above. An occasional bright light flashes far above in the sky, indicating the beginning of a space battle. He struggles against the panic. Leia, Han, Chewie… they could all be killed out there. If only there was a way he could warn them.

"From here you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance, and the end of your insignificant Rebellion."

He looks back at the lightsaber on the throne again. He's getting most impatient. He has to do something. The Emperor grins evilly. "You want this, don't you? The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment, you make yourself more my servant."

When Luke doesn't react immediately the Sith continues goading him on. "It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine."

"I am not your slave," Vader hisses tightly. Luke throws him a surprised look. He doesn't know what prompted that sudden outburst. Is he trying to throw Sidious off balance or is he trying to do something else?

"I belong to no one," Luke declares firmly, echoing Vader's sentiment. He feels a slight touch of approval from Vader and knows that it's time. Extending his hand, he calls his lightsaber to it. The green blade hisses to life, and he swings towards the Sith Lord, whose sinister grin fades to alarm as Vader doesn't move to stop him.

He leaps backwards with an agility that belies his aged appearance. Vader ignites his own lightsaber before lunging at his erstwhile master. "So, you have chosen to betray me," snarls Sidious, unleashing a burst of lightning. Vader skillfully deflects it, holding his blade defensively in front of him. He's clearly using the Force to prevent himself from being affected by the electricity.

Luke lunges forwards at Sidious again, almost foolishly hoping that maybe he can stab him while he's distracted. Instead, he's caught by a Force-shove, sending him flying backwards down the nearby stairs. He quickly catches himself at the edge, barely managing to avoid rolling all the way down.

He stumbles back to his feet just as Sidious ceases his lightning attack on Vader, withdrawing a lightsaber from his robes. The red blade hisses to life in his hand and he charges at Vader with a snarl. So much for being unarmed.

"You will pay for your treachery," hisses the Sith Master as the two red lightsabers clash. Luke dashes forwards, swinging at Sidious again. The Sith Lord whirls towards him, parrying his blow before spinning back to block Vader's next strike.

The red and green blades continue to clash furiously. Despite the Emperor's age, his blade continues to spin with remarkable speed and precision. Luke takes a step back from the fighting pair for a moment, trying to catch his breath before launching into the duel again. If it wasn't for Vader, he knows that he'd already be dead by now.

Luke soon finds that he can't even try to keep track of all of Sidious's moves. He can only focus on defending himself and trying to add in a few extra lunges, none of which get even close enough to harm the Sith Lord. Vader is an expert duelist - Luke can see that now so clearly - so he tries not to let himself worry over his father. He has to defend himself first.

"Why fight for a lost cause?" taunts Sidious, eyes boring into Luke. "The moment I am dead, Vader will seize the throne, and have all your friends executed."

Luke refuses to fall to the goading. His father had warned him that Sidious would try to turn them against each other. It's obviously easier to turn Luke against Vader than the other way around.

"You would have done that anyway," Luke retorts. "At least this way we'll still be alive." There's no comeback, probably because it's hard to argue with that logic.

Sidious raises a hand, Force-shoving Vader before turning on Luke, electricity leaping from his fingers. He quickly tries to block it with his lightsaber, the way he'd seen Vader do it, but not in time. The electricity crackles into him, the force of it throwing him across the room with searing agony accompanying it.

Luke slowly stumbles to his feet, calling his lightsaber back to him. He almost wishes he could lay there for a few moments longer, since his entire body is still aching from the effects of the lightning, but that's not an option. He's not going to leave his father to fight the Sith Master alone.

Drawing on the Force to bolster his strength, he lunges anew at the Emperor. They will win this fight. They will. He won't let himself think otherwise. Back and forth, Sidious weaves his lightsaber, effortlessly deflecting everything they throw at him. If they continue like this, they'll tire long before he does.

"New plan," he sends to Vader. "We'll stay on the defense and try to wear him down, or we'll never win."

Vader doesn't reply, but he feels the acknowledgement of his words and logic. Sidious obviously realizes that something changed when Vader and Luke scale down the intensity of their assaults, instead focusing more on defense than attack. Luke feels a wave of anger - what else is new? - before the blows begin reigning down on him; obviously, he's trying to destroy Luke first.

As the Emperor spins to block Luke's next strike, Vader throws his former master across the room. He slams into the wall, falling to the floor next to his throne. But he's on his feet again almost instantly, unleashing bolts of lightning on both Luke and Vader. Luke quickly positions his lightsaber defensively in front of him, deflecting it away from himself. He silently congratulates himself on his success, though it's probably in part because Vader is assisting him.

Sidious cackles suddenly, the sound sending a chill down Luke's spine. He doesn't think he's going to like what happens next - or maybe that's the Force giving him a warning. "And now," he states confidently, increasing the intensity of the lightning raining down on them, "You will both die."

"Not if I can help it," Luke thinks mockingly, letting the thought escape through the bond with his father. He feels a flicker of amusement, which is masked in the Force.

Luke hears a sudden noise from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he sees an object - likely ripped from a nearby wall - flying at Sidious. The Sith Lord catches it with the Force, throwing it at Luke. He dodges out of the way, very nearly getting electrocuted in the process. As it is, a few sparks hit him, and he hastily shakes off their effects.

It takes only a millisecond for Luke to realize that Vader can't hold off the barrage for much longer, even with the added strength from his mechanical limbs. And Luke can either join him, and continue deflecting the electricity, or he can do something which will end the stalemate - or preferably, end the Emperor. It's a risk, but it's one he's willing to take. He won't watch his father die again.

Luke rolls to his feet, silently approaching Sidious from behind and struggling to mask himself in the Force. He doesn't want to give the other any warning, but from the glee the Sith is radiating, Luke's not sure he'll even notice until it's too late. Vader falters suddenly under the attack, taking a stumbling step backwards, and as the first shock gets past his lightsaber, Luke panics. Without thinking, he throws himself forwards, stabbing the Emperor in the side.

There's a burst of shock in the Force, and as Sidious begins turning, Luke swings his blade again, slicing off the Sith's head. He doesn't stop to watch the dead body crumple to the floor, turning frantically to his father. "Are you alright?" he demands, keeping his lightsaber ignited in case of any other attacks from unseen assailants.

Vader, unlike Luke, deactivates his lightsaber and clips the hilt to his belt. "Yes," he assures Luke. "I am fine. We must hurry. Your friends will likely destroy the station soon, and we must be gone by then."

Luke nods, realizing the precariousness of the situation. The Emperor might be dead, but they aren't safe. Not yet.