A/N: Set shortly after ANH. Vader knows Luke is his son.

Chapter Summary: Here there be weird Force temples and weird Force illusions. Vader lets his emotions get the best of him. What else is new?

Chapter 6: Illusion

Luke scowled at his bound hands, resisting the urge to jerk away from the black leather glove that encircled his arm, dragging him along the corridor.

"If you would only cooperate, Skywalker, I would not have to resort to binders."

Luke pointedly ignored his captor.

He received the impression of a frustrated sigh and Luke smirked. Good. He would hate to make this easy on the man.

Luke was astounded how quickly a routine scouting mission could go sour the moment Darth Vader showed up. At least Luke had been sent alone. While he was currently alive, Luke had a feeling if anyone else had been with him, they would be dead right now. The alive-only bounty seemed to suggest it was mostly him Vader was interested in.

The hallways they were traversing were poorly lit. The worn stone walls glowed softly, casting a sickly green light across their path. He couldn't tell what made the stones glow—where the source of the light was coming from. It was all very strange and unsettling. Luke felt increasingly claustrophobic the longer they were here. Contrasting Vader's iciness, the temple they were trapped in exuded stifling hot tendrils.

He did not like this place and he was very eager to leave. If only Vader hadn't caved in the entrance in an attempt to keep Luke from fleeing. For some reason, to Vader's extreme irritation, the slab that had slammed shut over the entrance refused to budge. Instead, after a brief argument which consisted of Vader disarming Luke, cuffing him, and "convincing" him that in order to escape they had to work together, they found themselves wandering aimlessly through the frankly enormous temple. It hadn't looked this large on the outside.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Luke couldn't resist asking one more time.

An odd noise escaped Vader's vocoder and the hand clamped around his arm tightened almost painfully. "Yes."

Luke didn't need the Force to know Vader's patience (what little he'd had to begin with) was almost spent. Privately, because he did have some self-preservation instincts, Luke didn't think the man had any clue how to get out of this Force-forsaken building.

Vader abruptly yanked Luke forward, causing him to stumble slightly. "I find your lack of faith disturbing," he snapped.

Kriff. I really need to work on my shielding.

"You are correct," Vader said. "That is the first thing I will teach you. It is imperative you know how to shield."

"Are you reading my mind?" Luke growled. He didn't want his father's murderer anywhere near his thoughts.

"I do not need to. You project your thoughts and feelings quite loudly, young one."

"Don't call me—" The rest of Vader's statement caught up to him. "Wait, teach me? What makes you think I'd let you teach me anything?"

The temperature dropped, which was a welcome relief against the tendrils of heat, but still bad because it meant Vader's anger was seconds away from being unleashed. "You will not have a choice."

Luke wisely kept his mouth shut. Just because Vader didn't seem inclined to kill or hurt him now didn't mean he wouldn't accidentally do so if he lost his temper.

"We are almost there."

Luke startled. Vader's voice was loud in the silence that had descended.

"How can you tell?"

"The Force, Skywalker." The exasperated bemusement Vader projected made Luke's face go red. "Indeed, you have much to learn."

Luke's heart sped up. His window of opportunity to escape was closing. He might be able to get away once they got outside, but the binders and Vader's tight hold would make things tricky.

The dimly lit tunnel they were in started to lighten and Luke could smell the fresh air. They turned a corner and about ten meters away was an opening. The sun spilled in, brightly illuminating the rest of their path. Luke unconsciously slowed down, his fear spiking. He couldn't go with Vader. The man might not want him dead, but that didn't mean interrogation was off the table. He was probably going to torture him.

"Keep up," Vader barked, pulling him closer and forcing him to walk faster. Luke could feel his impatience as it hung heavily in the air.

They were halfway to the exit when the air in front of them started to shimmer. Vader stopped unexpectedly and Luke almost tripped. The shimmering coalesced into the shape of a woman.

The Force erupted with a maelstrom of emotions—anger, hatred, grief, guilt, fear. They swelled and thrashed around, fighting for dominance. Vader's intense feelings were like boulders in his mind. He had to fight hard to keep them from overwhelming him, and even then he could still feel a migraine spreading behind his eyes. Vader tugged Luke against his chest, his grip most likely leaving bruises.

"What is this?" Vader hissed.

Luke dared not breathe a word.

"Anakin, you're breaking my heart," the woman cried, her pale face—framed by luxurious brown curls—twisted in grief. Distantly, Luke thought she looked astonishingly like Leia.

Wait. Anakin?

"What—?"

Vader snarled, interrupting his question, and the walls started trembling. The woman reached out a hand and Vader—to Luke's complete shock—took a step back, as if he was...afraid?

"Come away with me," she pleaded. "Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can."

"Stop this!" Vader roared. The whole tunnel was shaking uncontrollably, and Luke feared Vader would bring it down on top of them.

"Stop, stop now. Come back! I love you."

Cracks appeared in the ceiling, the walls, and Luke decided it was time for him to intervene somehow. He had no idea what was going on. He didn't know what connection this woman had with his father, though he had his suspicions, and he certainly didn't know why Vader was reacting this way. But, he did know one thing. The translucent woman in front of them wasn't real. She was an apparition, a trick. Luke could feel it.

"Vader!" Luke shouted, trying to twist around to face him, to no avail. Vader's hold on him was too tight. "It's not real!"

The man didn't react one bit to Luke's words or movements. Glancing behind him, Luke could see his mask was pointed straight ahead. He sensed Vader's eyes were fixed on the woman as she continued to beg and cry. Luke attempted to wriggle out of Vader's grasp—maybe he could escape while he was distracted—but it was futile.

"You're going to kill us both if you don't calm down!" he tried. Still no response.

Luke groaned. There was nothing for it. He was going to have to reach Vader through the Force. This was probably not going to be pleasant. Closing his eyes, he breathed in and out, trying to shut out his surroundings and find calm. He stretched out and approached Vader's mind. Immediately, he was rebuffed by durasteel walls. Nothing he did was going to break through those, not with the limited Force training he had. Nor did he want to violate the man's privacy, despite that Vader had likely done exactly the same thing to countless others.

Vader? He lightly prodded against the shields.

Quick as a striking sand viper, the freezing black hole that was Vader snaked around him and squeezed. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, and something burning cold struck back at his own mind in instinctive retaliation. Luke opened his mouth in a silent scream of pain, unable to make a sound because of the pressure around his throat.

No! Luke cried. His only means of survival was to try to contact Vader mentally. He was obviously unaware of what was going on around him, and he saw Luke's presence trying to breach his mind as a threat. I'm trying to help!

Nothing changed and Luke started to panic. Black spots were forming in his vision, and he could still hear the tunnel rumbling around them. Pebbles and small pieces of stone were beginning to rain down.

She's not real… he sent weakly—a last desperate attempt. Please...stop...

The cold spike that was drilling into his mind ceased, but he still couldn't move or breathe.

Luke? Vader sounded confused, which was a novelty in of itself. Too bad Luke couldn't enjoy the moment. Unable to form words anymore, using the last of his strength, Luke sent a flare of acknowledgement.

The invisible vise around his throat disappeared, and he gasped and sputtered painfully. The sharp edges of Vader's Force presence softened and brushed against his mind. They surrounded him gently, cradling him instead of drilling or lashing out. It was still cold, but it wasn't painful. He felt his knees buckle, his body also released from the crushing, immobilizing stranglehold. Strong arms caught him before he could get far. Luke was lifted and held against a broad chest, his head coming to rest against an armored shoulder. He was vaguely aware the tunnel had stopped moving, and he couldn't hear the woman anymore.

I am...sorry, my son, pulsed almost hesitantly through his mind.

The utter bewilderment of 1. Darth Vader apologizing and 2. Darth Vader calling him son pushed him the rest of the way into blissful oblivion. Luke was going to have some questions when he woke up.