Chapter Two: Father

The two stormtroopers stood guard at their sides as Leia and Luke sat within Vader's Lambda-class shuttle. They both were still bound and were waiting for flight preparations to finish so the ship could take them up to the Death Star. Leia was glad that she hadn't been separated from her brother. She didn't know how much time she had left to live, but she wanted to spend it with him.

"Your plan didn't work," she murmured to him. Luke leaned closer to hear her. "He isn't going to turn." Luke didn't respond but stared at their joined hands on their laps. Her heart cracked at his distant expression. "I'm sorry, Luke." She had known it had been hopeless, but she had wanted to spare her brother from this pain.

"No," he said, lifting his eyes and boring them into hers. "I'm sorry. I convinced you to come. I should have left you behind."

Leia gave a snort before lowering her voice again, so the troopers wouldn't hear. "Vader's right about one thing," she said, "I wouldn't have let you come alone."

"You've always been strong," Luke gave a wisp of a smile.

"You bet it, flyboy," Leia huffed, doing anything to keep that smile, to make it grow. It did, for a few more seconds, but left all too soon. Luke's eyes trailed off in regret, guilt, and remorse. Leia hissed. Vader didn't deserve what love Luke was offering him, and he was a fool not to take it.

She knew her brother's thoughts but decided to clarify them. "So you've given up on Vader?" If Luke decided the mission was a failure, that meant they could fight. There was no way they could escape, especially not with Vader here, but they could do some damage and take some Imperials down with them…heck, maybe even Vader himself.

Luke fidgeted. "I don't know," he said finally. "I still feel the conflict in him, but I don't know if it's strong enough to bring him back."

Leia sighed. Even when clearly confronted with the truth, Luke still held on to straws of hope. She changed the subject. "Tell me more about the Dark Side," she said. Leia knew that there were two sides of the Force, Light and Dark, but knew nothing about them except that good guys used Light and bad guys used Dark. As with most things in this galaxy, Leia knew it was probably a lot more complicated than that.

Luke blinked, distracted from whatever thoughts he'd been having about Vader, and mulled his words over for a moment. "The Dark Side is fear, anger, hatred, and aggression. Negative emotions that aren't handled properly. The Force tends to…feedon such uncontrolled passions and strengthen them, giving you more power in the Force that is easy to lose yourself in. The hostile emotions grow the more you use them with the Force, becoming more and more violent. It's easier to use, but it eventually consumes you. It's a cycle that feeds on itself."

"Anger and passions?" Leia repeated. That didn't sound good. She used her anger all the time. In some of the most desperate moments of the Alliance, anger and the need for revenge were the only things keeping her going. Should she refuse to use the Force, to keep herself from the Dark Side?

"When uncontrolled," Luke nodded. "Selfishness, in particular. Master Yoda warned me against attachments, too. He said they caused too much turmoil." Luke's face twisted. "But I think love is the most selfless thing there is." His eyes became distant again as they trailed to the door. "If Vader cared about me more than himself, if he…" If he loved me.

Leia kept her face stone. Even if Vader turned, she doubted he could do that.

…Then again…Vader's soft words to Luke, the regret she had seen in him. The hopelessness. Perhaps Vader doubted that he could do it just as she did, and that stopped him from even trying to resist the Dark Side's influence. From trying to love.

"I knew he was struggling inside when we fought before," Luke went on. "I thought, if he knew about you—that between the two of us, it would be enough for the Light in him to win."

Ah, but Leia wasn't offering Vader the precious love and light that Luke was, was she? Why would Vader turn for her? Luke may be bringing out Vader's Light, Luke may be giving Vader hope, but Leia certainly wasn't. She wasn't sure she could, nor was she inclined to try. Why should she, after all Vader had done to her?

For Luke?

She didn't wantto.

Leia changed the subject before her mind tore itself apart with guilt and selfishness. "So Vader is taking us to the Emperor so he can turn us to the Dark Side?" Leia had never seen the Emperor in person, perhaps from very far away once or twice in a senator's meeting or party. Of course, she'd grown up surrounded by his images. But in her all time on Coruscant, she'd never truly faced him. She honestly counted herself lucky for that; she'd heard whispers of his true appearance, not just what the Imperial propaganda made him look like. But now, she would have to face him and endure his focus. What was he like for real, with all the lies around him striped away? She knew plenty of rumors about him from both the Senate and the Rebels. She wondered which ones were true.

"Yes," Luke locked eyes with her. The blue pools burned with intensity. "He will be crafty, Leia, but we mustn't turn. We cannot even beginto go down that path, for the Dark Side will only lure us more and more."

"Don't do evil things, got it," Leia said, elbowing Luke in hope of putting cracks in his serious face. She was heeding his warnings, but she didn't know how much time she had left with him. She didn't want it to be all gloom. Yet that thought brought the unavoidable truth down upon her, and it came through her lips before she thought better of it. "If all goes well, we won't have to resist for long."

They were both quiet at that. They were going to the Death Star. The Rebels were coming to blow it up. The Rebels wouldn't stop their attack for them, and neither Luke nor Leia would want them to. They were going to die on that battle station, one way or another.

"I'm sorry I brought you along, Leia," Luke softly said again.

"We'll be distracting the Emperor and Vader," Leia said in a low voice with a quick glance to the stormtroopers in front of them. "Helping our friends in whatever way we can; I wouldn't want to go out any other way."

The look Luke gave her was both of admiration and sorrow. He started to say something, but then he froze and looked to the ramp. Leia was about to ask him what it was when the ramp of the shuttle dropped open with a burst of steam, startling her. Two stormtroopers at his side, Darth Vader swept up inside. His mask immediately locked in on them, and they stared defiantly back for a moment. There was tension in the small space of the ship's compartment before Vader turned away and paced past them, towards the cockpit. Both Leia and Luke watched his every tense move. He seemed even more rigid than usual.

When the door shut behind him and he was gone, Leia exchanged a look with her brother. Did he still think Vader could be saved? He hadn't even spoken to them.

She felt the engines activate beneath her and the shuttle lifted off, ascending into space. Leia placed her head on Luke's shoulder, their hands entwined. She wished she had had more time with her brother. The past years with him in the Rebellion had been harsh and full of turmoil, but even through that they had found some joy together. What if he had been with her on Alderaan? Breha and Bail—Leia's real mother and father—would have adored him. The people of Alderaan would have adored him. But then, would he be gone along with Alderaan if that had happened? She shuddered just thinking about it.

Luke's arm twitched, and she knew he wanted to put it around her. She would have welcomed the hug, but the binders didn't allow it. Leia stared at the bulky cuffs on her hands. Always the Empire, restraining them, even in little ways.

They stayed like that, as close to each other as they could get, until the shuttle slowed and thunkedas it landed. They didn't bother to move even when Vader came out and froze when he saw them together like this. The two stormtroopers at their sides finally moved.

"Get up," one said roughly, grabbing Leia by her forearm and forcibly pulling her from Luke and to her feet. Luke quickly stood with her.

Vader suddenly appeared between Leia and the stormtrooper, shoving the trooper back from her. The black leather brushed against her and Leia jumped back into Luke, who caught her and held her steady as much as he could with the binders restricting him. She grimaced at having Vader close enough to touch her. She might have shouted at him had she not felt the rage that suddenly infused the air like smoke. She looked up at Vader's back as he stared down the stormtrooper, fists clenched and stance widened as if to make himself as big a barrier between Leia and the stormtrooper as he could.

There was a pause as everyone in the room wondered if Vader would kill this poor trooper.

"You will remain here," Vader finally ground out, before whirling on Leia and Luke. He lifted an arm, not quite reaching for her but guiding her movement to the ramp. Wanting to be as far away from the contact as possible, Leia clung to her brother's side and walked down, Vader behind both of them. Leia's spine was stiff as durasteel at leaving Vader at her back, but she refused to give him any more of her attention. She forced her eyes to stay forward.

What had all that been about? Vader appeared to be very territorial with her and Luke. But obviously pushing off a stormtrooper was very different from pushing off, say, the Emperor of the known Galaxy. Did he expect them to be grateful for his protectiveness? Leia had been shoved around by troopers more times than she could count. Stormtroopers always seemed to like to shove their prisoners, so much so that Leia wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was a part of their very training. Even being a princess didn't seem to deter them much.

She focused back on where she was going. Through the hallways of a Death Star, yet again. It felt like she had stepped into one of her memories…one of her nightmares. She half expected to turn a corner and see Grand Moff Tarkin, with his cold glittering eyes and knife-thin smile, politely and elegantly telling her that he was about to destroy everything she loved. She shivered, and her brother brushed his shoulder against hers. She glanced at him, a twitch of a smile in thanks. Hekept her grounded here. He was what was different. Hekept her from falling into mad flashbacks.

She wondered if her Crystal was here, like Luke had suggested. She didn't feel anything, but she supposed she didn't even know what she was supposed to befeeling. Even if she did, she knew Vader wouldn't agree if she asked for a detour to the Death Star's power core so she could take a vital part of it.

They turned a corner, and at the end of the corridor were two men in red cloaks and masks. Leia missed one step but corrected herself. That bright uniform meant Red Guards, Imperial Guards of the Emperor himself. Their long matching Force-pikes hummed in their hands. Their masked helmets did not twitch as Leia approached them. She came to a halt and Vader stepped forward. "The Emperor is expecting us."

One of the Red Guards merely nodded, and the elevator door slid open. Vader turned his mask to look at Leia and Luke, and the two of them stepped forward inside. Leia worried how they were all supposed to fit in this small place and was relieved to see the stormtroopers back away—they weren't coming. Vader, on the other hand, was.He stepped right between Leia and Luke, his cape nipping at their heels. Leia resisted the urge to press herself against the elevator wall to be as far away from him as possible. Luke only stared forward at the doorway as it closed.

Silence, and a whole lot of tension. Vader's breathing was the only sound. Leia didn't dare say a word. She wished she could be beside her brother again, but tall, dark, and evil was in the way.

The elevator began to slow, and Leia realized that when that door opened again, they would be in the Emperor's throne room. She glanced at her brother behind Vader's bulky frame; his expression was completely calm and neutral. She was a princess, she could keep her composure easily, but she had to say that Luke's control impressed her right now. Where had that moister farm-boy who wore his heart on his shoulders gone? Replaced by this focused Jedi Knight? Leia knew he still had that same hope he had begun with, but it had been trained, grown from ignorance and naivety to experience and wisdom.

The elevator stopped slowly and the door slid open with a hiss. A dark open room was before them, and as Leia, Vader, and Luke stepped in, she had the horrible feeling she had just left the whole galaxy behind and entered a much different, much darker world. Almost all the light came from large, spiderweb-like windows, which wasn't much light at all. The stars feebly provided their minimal glow, unable to bring warmth to this cold hollow place. A metal stairway led up to the center window, and in the middle of it, like a spider awaiting its prey, was the throne. It was turned away from them, the venomous predator facing the empty expanse of space.

Vader shepherded them forward, the three of them climbing the staircase to the creature who waited above. Although he was turned away, Leia felt that her every move was being watched, considered, calculated…hunted.She kept her face blank, chin up, shoulders back. She was undaunted.

And yet…she suddenly felt something strange. In the stark coldness of this room, she felt a light, beyond the warmth of herself and her brother. Like a single, tiny ray of sunshine warming her skin through the cold air…calling to her. She glanced as Vader discreetly. Was it from him? Was that what Luke had been talking about?

They reached the top of the stairs and stood before the throne. Leia dared not turn away from the it, but she heard Vader's breathing behind her. The chair slowly turned around to face them. Leia didn't see any signs of a motor in it—controlled by the Force, she wondered in the back of her mind? But her main focus was the occupant.

In any public holos of him, Emperor Palpatine had the appearance of a stereotype kindly old man, completely nonthreatening. Leia knew, however, that those images were what he had looked like during the time of the Republic, two decades ago. She knew the images had to be edited, but still some part of her expected the Emperor to even somewhat resemble the grandfatherly figure she'd grown up seeing.

He most definitely was not that.

He wore a simple black cloak and kept the dark hood up, shrouding himself in mystery that was somehow even more terrifying. But beneath that hood gleamed his off-white skin, icy cruel smile, and glittering yellow-red eyes, those of a monster. Whoever was in charge of changing the Emperor's public face, Leia didn't know whether to be horrified or impressed. Perhaps both.

"Welcome, young Skywalker," Emperor called, eyes on Luke. They lingered there for a moment before trailing to Leia. Leia dug her nails into her palms to keep still under that hard gaze, but her every muscle wanted to run, run far away. She reminded herself that this was the man truly responsible for both Death Stars, for the loss of her planet, and for the pain of the galaxy. This was the man who deserved all her hate.

The Emperor's smile dropped. "I did not instruct the Princess to be brought here," he said disdainfully, eyes still on her, but he was clearly addressing Vader.

"There was…a complication," Vader ventured, his 'Master's' eyes turning on him. Vader hesitated a moment longer, before he spoke. "They are twins, my Master." He lifted his head. "She is the boy's brother. They are both mine."

For a moment, the Emperor did nothing. But then his face broke out into a wide smile. Leia grimaced. A regular grin on that ugly face was unpleasant. But the sick, twisted smirk of satisfaction that infected the Emperor's already defiled face could make one ill. A dark laugh poured from his lips, echoing throughout the shadowy room.

"The Force has such surprises," the Emperor said, his pleasure evident in his voice. He turned his focus on her. "Then you are welcome as well, Leia Skywalker."

"Organa," she hissed. Behind her, she heard leather creak as Vader's fist clenched tightly. She wasn't going to accept that name. She wasn't going to give up the name of her real parents, especially not for Vader's.

The Emperor's smile broadened. "Your unexpected revelation is most…opportune." Leia suddenly felt as if her mind was surrounded by a snowstorm, clutched in uncaring coldness. Icy fingers seemed to be pressing their way into her skull. She shook her head but that did nothing. This wasn't natural. Leia looked up back at the Emperor, his smile still holding, but now filled with knowledge.

Leia narrowed her eyes. She may not know much about the Force, but she would not be pushed around. She imagined fire. She imagined lava and blazes and volcanic suns, covering and protecting all her other thoughts. Fire pushed back the ice before the flames molded themselves into stony walled around her mind, locking her intellect away.

The Emperor laughed yet again. "She is untrained, but has excellent and promising talents, my Apprentice." Leia doubted she had actually managed to fight off the Emperor's probe, but rather, he had been testing her. She hated it. The Emperor's eyes trailed to Luke. "It would be easier to train the more experienced boy…yet the girl could be of use, as well."

"I have no desire to be 'of use' to you," Leia snapped. She shot a glare at Vader beside her and was taken aback at how Luke and Vader's stances currently mirrored each other. Both of them looked ready to charge forward and do…something.Luke's face was full of concern for her. Vader's expression could never be seen with his mask, but his hand was ever so slightly subconsciously extended towards her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

Leia returned her glare to the Emperor as his laughter and amusement faded. "You no longer need those." With a lazy wave of his hand, the binders on Leia and Luke released and fell on the ground with a clunk. Leia refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her rub her wrists. The Emperor lifted his chin to call out behind them. "Guards; leave us." Leia glanced over her shoulder as she saw the two Red Guards by the elevator swoop away with twirls of their cloaks, simultaneously, like a pair of red birds.

The Emperor tilted his head, eyes flicking back in forth between Leia and Luke. "I'm looking forward to completing your training…and beginning yours," he added to Leia. "In time, you both will learn to call me…Master."

"I don't see that happening," Leia said flatly.

"She's right; you're gravely mistaken," Luke added. Leia watched her brother through the corner of her eye, and noticed Vader watching him as well. "You won't convert us as you did our father."

"Oh no, my young Skywalkers," the Emperor said, with a false-apology in his tone as he 'corrected' them. He stood up and began to head towards them, and Leia saw a glimmer of that grandfatherly persona the Emperor displayed to the rest of the galaxy. "You will find that it is you who are mistaken…about a great many things."

As the Emperor moved, he leaned down on Luke, closer than that creature ever should be. Leia's heart gave a flicker of worry and concern—she had to protect Luke. She had to distract or redirect the Emperor, somehow. She opened her mouth to speak when Vader suddenly reached out.

"His lightsaber," Vader said tonelessly, holding out the hilt. Leia blinked as the Emperor's focus broke off Luke, leaning back. She narrowed her eyes at Vader, remembering the shuttle where Vader had made the stormtrooper back off her. She had thought that behavior would vanish when with the Emperor, but it seemed it was still here. Vader may have brought them here and put them in danger, but did he still feel the basic instincts to protect Luke, just as Leia did? The impulse to keep Luke out of the line of fire as much as possible? Those drives of a father were built into blood. Did they come through, even with the Dark Side?

"Ah yes," the Emperor said, taking the lightsaber from Vader's hand. He observed it for a moment. "A Jedi's weapon." His gaze flicked back up to Luke. "Much like your father's. By now you must know your father can never be turned from the Dark Side," the Emperor hissed. "So will it be with you."

Leia glared at the Emperor for wanting to crush her brother's spirit before she noticed Vader's mask locked on Luke's face intently. The focus of him was evident, and Luke glanced at Vader briefly to see it, too. Leia knew that Luke still had some, even distant, hope that Vader could be turned. But with that last comment Luke had made on Endor, about his father being 'dead,' did Vaderknow that? Or did Vader think Luke had given up fully? Or was Vader trying to find out?

"You're wrong," Luke said softly. "Soon my sister and I will be dead. And you along with us."

The Emperor merely chuckled. "Perhaps you refer to imminent attack of your Rebel fleet?"

Leia felt ice grip her heart. Oh no.

Luke's face slackened. They both stared in shock as the Emperor reveled in both of their astonishment. "Yes…" he murmured. "I assure you; we are quite safe from your friends here." The Emperor spat before turning around back to his throne. Leia cast a desperate look to Luke behind the Emperor's back. The Empire already knew about their surprise attack? How had they found out? What could the Rebels do? They had to call it off, they had to warn the Alliance somehow!

"You underestimate us," Leia spoke up. Just because the Empire knew didn't mean the attack was hopeless. The entire Rebel fleet was coming—they would either be wiped out, or push through. Of course, if the Empire knew, they wouldn't have the element of surprise, yet the Rebels could handle themselves in a battle. She just hoped Han could take out that shield for them…

"I think my estimation is quite precise, young princess," the Emperor said without looking back.

"Your over confidence is your weakness," Luke said defiantly. Both Leia's and Vader's heads snapped to look at him. Even caught off guard with the Emperor's knowledge, Luke did not waver.

The Emperor sneered over his shoulder. "Your faith in your friends is yours."

Faith. Yes, Leia had faith in Han. She knew that even though she and Luke had abandoned him, Han would do everything he could to get that base. If there was one thing Han could do, it was pull of crazy stunts. She loved him for it.

Leia twitched in surprise when Vader spoke. "It is pointless to resist, my children."

Luke lowered his gaze but didn't look at Vader. Leia watched the Sith Apprentice in suspicion. Had that been yet more regret in his tone? No one else in the room seemed to catch it. Just her imagination? Was she reading too much into things?

The Emperor reached his throne and leaned comfortably back into it. "Everything that has transpired has done so according to my desire. Your friends, up there on the sanctuary moon…" the Emperor made a careless gesture behind him "are walking into a trap.As is your Rebel fleet."

Leia felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her. Han.

"It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator," the Emperor went on with a sneering smile. "It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legionof my best troops awaits them."

She and Luke exchanged looks of fear. "No," she whispered.

"Yes,"the Emperor hissed. He leaned forward and put on that mockery of a friendly old man yet again. "Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive." His face grew into a perverted smirk.

The Emperor turned his head to the window behind him. "Ah, speak of the righteous little Rebels, and they will appear." He chuckled darkly. "Come, young ones. See for yourselves." The Emperor made a gesture for the two of them to come forward. Leia was too much in a shocked trance to be revolted. In a daze, she walked forward to see through the window. From a distance, she watched the space battle before them. Star Destroyers were advancing on the Rebel fleet, which barreled forward, ignorant of the reality of the situation.

She felt Vader follow them from behind, but for once she was too distracted to be afraid at his nearness. She turned to look at her brother, but his gaze was locked on the ships outside. "From here, you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance, and the end of your insignificant Rebellion."

Leia tried to catch her breath. This attack was everything.The Alliance's advantage was that they were widespread, diverse and supported through thousands of systems. Small and struggling, perhaps, but everywhere. But for this chance, Mon Mothma had called everyone. It was their best shot—and it was a trap.

She shook her head, trying to hold on to her quickly fading hope. "As long as there is oppression, people will rise against it," she said with more conviction than she felt. "The more you tighten your grip, Your Majesty, the more systems will slip through your fingers. Even if you destroy us, your cruelty will turn your own people into your enemies. You cannot rule by fear."

"I can, with this battle station. No one would dare fight when it means they will suffer the same fate as Alderaan." Leia involuntary shivered at the thought of more planets, gone in an instant, like her home.

Luke turned to the Emperor and the Sith Lord smiled, shifting a hand to caress Luke's lightsaber. "You want this…don't you? The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon." His yellow eyes flashed. "Use it. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger."

Leia remembered what Luke had said about not giving in to the Dark Side. But their friends were all dying. Right now, if she and Luke somehow managed to kill the Emperor, wouldn't that end all of this? Wasn't it worth the cost?

"You are filled with it, too, Princess," the Emperor said, turning to her. "Ah…your rage has been in you for so long. You've made so many sacrifices to be where you are now. Is this not simply another sacrifice? Killing me, and saving your friends? Saving planets from the power of this Death Star? You were unable to save your own…will you let this chance pass you by?"

She froze, mind wrestling with all the ways this could go wrong. All the paths before her led to destruction in some way. She was losing focus when Luke took her hand. "No," her brother spat. She shook her head, not fully ridding it of the darkness clouding around her but remembering the spark of light, even briefly.

The Emperor gave them a pitying look. "With each passing moment you make yourselves more my servants. It is unavoidable. It is your destinies. You both…like your father…are now mine."

"We are not slaves," Leia hissed, with a hateful glance at Vader, who loomed beside the Emperor's throne like a shadow. She believed those who you truly loved belonged to you, and you belonged to whoever loved you back. It was claim on each other's hearts. But that wasn't what the Emperor was talking about. "And you have not won yet, Your Majesty." She sneered the title.

"Your fleet is lost," the Emperor hissed back. "Your friends on the Endor moon will not survive. There is no chance at victory, Princess. Nor any escape for either of you, my young…Apprentices."

Both Leia and Luke turned from the viewport to look at him as he went on. "The Alliance will die. As will your friends."

Han. Force, Leia had known when she had left him last night that it would be the last time she would see him. She had known coming here that she would die. But she had believed there was a future for him.She had believed that he would have taken out the shield, survive the battle, and live a long life, maybe find happiness without her. But to know that he would die…

"Good," whispered the Emperor, closing his eyes in satisfaction. "I can feelyour anger." He opened them, eyes glittering with urgency and excitement. "I am defenseless. One of you, take the weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journeys towards the Dark Side will be complete!"

Leia was consumed with rage. One of them was going to do it, and she knew it would be her, hand ready to reach for the lightsaber—

The lightsaber flew from the Emperor's throne and into Luke's hand. Leia blinked in surprise as her brother ignited it and swung it down on the Emperor. But a second lightsaber ignited, and they clashed above the Emperor's smiling face.

Leia leapt away from the blades as they drew back yet again and began to have at it. The Emperor's laughter mixed with the bolts of the sabers as they crashed against each other. She stared in shock and surprise as Luke's hate-filled gaze locked on Vader, and the Sith Lord advanced upon him.

They moved in a deadly dance, the sabers together, then apart, together, apart. Energy of fear, anger, hatred, filled the air in suffocating quantities. Leia watched in shock from behind the Emperor's throne as Luke fought Vader, the father he had hoped so desperately to redeem. They were using skills she didn't understand, she had never seen before. Their strength seemed inhuman, powered by the Force with invisible weight. Luke suddenly kicked, and Vader cried out as he fell down the stairway.

She was speechless, but the Emperor was not. "Good! Use your aggressive feelings, boy! Let the hate flow through you!"

Leia didn't fully understand how this Dark Side worked, but she knew Luke had to resist the Emperor. "Luke," she said from behind the throne. He met her eyes. Seeing her fearful expression, his face slackened and then he retracted the lightsaber and turned to face Vader.

Behind Luke's back, Leia found the Emperor's eyes pinned on her. In their yellow glow was cold fury—and an unspoken warning. She held the gaze as the knowledge crushed upon her that if she interfered again, the Emperor would punish her. She had no weapon. Luke wasn't here to help her. Kriff, she would be safer right now if Vaderwas here by her side, and wasn't that a horrible thought?

"Obi-Wan has taught you well," Vader commented from the bottom of the stairs, shifting his lightsaber to his other side.

Luke shook his head. "I will not fight you, Father."

Leia stared. "Luke, you need to defend yourself. That's not the Dark Side," she softly. She gave a hasty glance at the Emperor beside her, who merely leaned back and tented his long white fingers before him.

Vader slowly walked back up the stairs, lightsaber still ignited at his side. Luke stepped back cautiously, but refused to ignite his own, even when Vader reached him. Vader lifted the saber, edging closer to Luke.

"You are unwise to lower your defenses!"and then Vader struck again. Luke ignited his blade just in time to block the attack and they engaged in battle again.

But Leia's attention was caught. Those words Vader had said…they had been a warning. Vader could have simply attacked, but instead he had hinted at it first. She tilted her head at the Sith. He had been quiet for much of the time here in the throne room, but his few actions and words…hinted at something else.

The Emperor leaned forward to watch in interest as the two fought, Vader advancing as Luke backed up the stairs. But Vader's strikes pressed Luke against a computer system, soon trapping him from retreat and escape. Leia took a step forward, she wasn't sure what she planned to do, but then Luke backflipped away onto a higher platform. Vader paused, watching him.

A small grin crossed Luke's face. "Your thoughts betray you, Father…I feel the good in you. The conflict."

"There is no conflict,"Vader spat. He lifted his red lightsaber threateningly.

Luke's smile didn't falter as he edged across the platform. "You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before and I don't think you'll destroy me now." Leia's eyes narrowed. Luke had mentioned Vader not killing him 'before.' That must have been in Cloud City, at Bespin. That was the only other time they had fought. Leia knew it had been a miracle that Luke had escaped, injured though he was, but she hadn't thought it was because Vader didn't wantto kill him.

What did that mean?

"You underestimate the power of the Dark Side," Vader hissed. "If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny!" Vader threw his lightsaber at the platform, cutting it in half. Luke dodged the swirling blade, but as the platform caved in he slid down it and fell onto the stairway. Luke rolled and slipped in the area behind the stairs, below the throne. He vanished from all of their sights.

"LUKE!" Leia cried out in fear. She noticed Vader pause and look back at her, hesitating for a moment before he turned back around and descended down the stairs.

Beside her, the Emperor laughed. "Good, good, both of you!" he turned to look at Leia. "Your fear will give you strength, young Skywalker, my Apprentices," he said to her appraisingly. Leia gave him a look of disgust. What she wouldn't give for a weapon! Even a pocket knife so she could stab the high and mighty Emperor in the back. He chuckled again, probably sensing her hatred.

But wait—there was that light again. Stronger now, like a concentrated beam of a hot summer day. Calling to her, but no one else seemed to be reacting to it. What was it?

She realized Vader had reached the bottom of the stairs and was heading after Luke. She had no idea where Luke was, and quickly she left the Emperor's side and ran after them. She didn't look back even as she felt the Emperor's eyes follow her. She whirled around to the hidden area as she reached the bottom of the stairs, but she only saw Vader standing there, watching her. She stared into the abyss of his masked eyes for a moment before he turned around, pacing through the darkness. This place beneath the throne was even darker than the rest of the room. Vader's lightsaber was very nearly the only illumination, and he was using it to look for Luke.

"You cannot hide forever, Luke," Vader called. Leia's eyes flickered through the darkness, hoping to find him before Vader, but afraid to go in herself. She still had no weapon, and if Vader and Luke clashed again, she didn't want to get caught. The darkness was an easy place for an accident to happen.

"I will notfight you," was Luke's response. Leia clenched her fists. Luke's insistent refusal was trapping them all. They couldn't kill the Emperor without getting through Vader first. Leia of all people didn't want to force Luke into doing something he didn't want to do, but his faith was misplaced. Vader didn't care.

Or did he?

Leia hesitated as she thought of all she'd seen Vader do when interacting with them. Her instinctstold her Vader was trying to protect them as much as he could, even while he was attacking Luke. She feltthe Sith's regret, sorrow, and hopelessness. But even if he didcare for them, which Leia doubted, did he deserve the mercy and forgiveness Luke was offering? Should Luke even be trying? Especially when it obviously wasn't enough?

Vader was silent for a long moment after Luke's refusal. Finally, he said "Give yourself to the Dark Side."

Leia blinked. That wasn't a mockery of Luke's hope for Vader, nor was it a further threat. It was a proposed solution, at least in Vader's eyes. If Luke turned, they could stop fighting. Luke would get to live, without killing his father. He might even be able to find a way to save the Alliance, their friends. But Leia knew the cost would be too great, and Luke would lose himself along the way, become just as twisted and full of hate as Vader. He couldn't do that, but in Vader's eyes, it was the only way for this all to end. For Luke to survive.

"No," Luke refused again.

"Draw the boy out, my Apprentice," the Emperor suddenly called out. "Attack the girl."

The room was held in breathless silence for a moment as that idea descended upon each of them. Luke loved Leia—she was an attachment like Yoda had warned Luke about. Leia was defenseless. If Vader attacked, Luke would have to come out from his hiding place to defend her.

She blinked wildly and her vision narrowed on Vader. But rather than the Sith Lord advancing on her with his lightsaber, he was hesitating. His hand tightly clutched the saber, and he actually took a step back from her, as if afraid. She had never seen him like this. In all the times she had faced him, imprisoned by him, tortured by him, she had never, ever seen an inch of fear in his body language. Now every muscle—and prosthetic—screamed it.

They stood there, staring at each other. Her waiting for him to kill her. What was he waiting for? For her to run? To miraculously pull out a weapon so that if he attacked, she would have something to defend herself with? For Luke to come out to distract Vader and avoid this entire dilemma?

"Apprentice!" the Emperor barked, "Attack her! Now!"

"Father! Don't do it!" Luke called, "I sense the conflict in you, it is stronger than ever! You won't do this, there isgood in you! Let go of your hate!"

Luke wasn't going to be enough. To make Vader turn, there hadto be more.

"There is no turning from the Dark Side, boy,"the Emperor spat. "Vader! Kill her! Now!"

"No," Leia suddenly said, finding her voice. Her command echoed in the room, focusing all attention on her. She swallowed, but did not waver, eyes on Vader. "We always have a choice." She took a step forward, a step forward towards the one who had haunted her nightmares, who had plagued her life, who in this very moment was instructed to kill her. "The choices we make, the actions we take, are our own."

She approached Vader in fast paces, walking directly into the darkness to reach him. He took a few steps back but Leia did not stop, not until she was right in front of him, perfectly within his reach if he did decide to kill her. She lifted her chin, having to look up his huge form to see his eye shields. The red lightsaber hummed between them.

"Youdo not want to kill us," she said, and she knew it was the truth. Everything he was doing pointed to it, and she could feelit in him. "You are doing all this because of your Master. But you don't have to obey him—that's your choice. Are you going to do what hewants, or what youwant?" She stared right into those eye shields. "Are you a slave?"

Nothing was said between them. She couldn't see his eyes, couldn't see his expression. He was still as a statue.

"Lord Vader," the Emperor finally hissed into the silence. "You are my Apprentice.I have given you instructions. Kill her. Now."

Vader didn't do anything at first, and then he shifted his lightsaber to the side. Leia didn't budge, didn't even flinch, though she guessed that was what Vader wanted. He wanted to scare her and make her run from him, so she would be safe. So he could say that she had escaped and that he couldn't have killed her, rather than he had made the choice notto.

"I'm not leaving you," Leia said. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then, she let go of her own hate. All her rage at him, she released. The imprisonment and torture, what he had done to Han, his crimes from within the Empire, she let it go. It still hurt, and it always would, but she didn't let it control her anymore. She opened her eyes yet again and refocused on Vader.

"I forgive you."

Vader's breath hitchedagain, like it had when Luke told him that Leia was his daughter. He lifted his free hand, holding it protectively to his chest as if he feared it would be burned. But then he reached out and cupped Leia's face in his palm.

Leia stared at him, wondering if her determination and truth were getting through. She normally hated anyone but those especially close to her getting into her personal space like this. Vader certainly was the last person she wanted to do so. A piece of her, a rather large piece, wanted to scream at him and slap his hand away. But she sensed, through the Force, his true awe in this moment. She knew how much this meant to him.

She allowed herself to melt, and she leaned into the hand, closing her eyes and lifting her own to put it over his, holding it there. And she felt from him…happiness.

"Apprentice."

That voice was far closer than before. Leia pulled out of the hand instinctively to turn around, finding the Emperor standing just a few feet away. He had come down the stairs, and he looked furious. His white hands were clenched at his sides, the long sleeves of his robe spread out like wings, suddenly making him look as big and as menacing as Vader. His stance was clearly threatening.

"This is the last time I will say it," the Emperor spat. "Kill her."

Leia looked back at Vader to see what he would do.

He didn't hesitate. Vader stepped past Leia and placed himself directly between her and the Emperor. He waved her back with one hand, before both of his hands came to grip his lightsaber and lifted its point towards the Emperor.

"No."

The Emperor snarled. "Do you think you can defeat me, Old Friend?"

The sound of a second lightsaber igniting cut through the tension, bringing green light to the darkness. Luke stepped out and came to Vader's side. "We can."

The Emperor's yellow eyes narrowed into slits. A hilt slipped out of his sleeve into his withered old hands, comfortably clutched in his grip. "So be it."