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ANAKIN'S REDEMPTION

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Mandalore Windu: There are some great threads on the Official Star Wars website that might interest you: "Was Mace turning to the Dark Side" is a good place to start. There's a big debate on that very topic. And Vaapad comes very close to the dark side, making him a rather dark character IMO. It's not a plot hole, it's a difference of opinion. And technically speaking, it's Anakin's opinion within the story. You don't have to agree with him, and if you don't like it then perhaps don't read the chapter after this one cos you really won't like that ;) Seriously dude: it's FICTION!

Triss: You are the first person to say that! When I originally posted this, everyone kept saying "Make Leia forgive him!" I'm with you, it's unrealistic after everything he did to her!

Thanks for all the nice comments you guys!

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CHAPTER SEVEN - Confessions

Leia was stubbornly silent, looking at her father with untrusting eyes. "You must tell me," Anakin urged.
"Yes," said Luke, also rising. "If she's still alive we deserve to know."
"Ohhhh," groaned Leia, clasping her hands over her face. "Oh NO! Me and my big mouth. I suppose now I have to explain."
"Yes you do," said Anakin and Luke in unison.

"Explanations would be good," chipped in Han.

"Well…oh I shouldn't be telling you this…my mother was forced to fake her own death after Anak…HE… became Vader," explained Leia with an accusing stare at her father. "Obi-Wan and Yoda knew she was in terrible danger. She nearly died after Luke and I were born, and she was in a coma for many months. They didn't think she would make it. Luke was sent to his aunt and uncle, and I was sent with the Organas. They even held a fake funeral with one of mother's decoy handmaidens, just to be sure Vader would never come looking for her." Luke and Anakin continued to stand in shock, Luke's mouth hanging open.

"You…how...how do you…. know all this?" Luke finally spluttered.

"I've always known," Leia told him. "I was raised by the Organas but I have always known my mother. I didn't see her often, it was too dangerous for her to come out of hiding, but I knew I was adopted and I knew who she was."
"B-but…b-b-but…" stammered Luke. "What about what you told me on Endor? That your mother died when you were very young? What was THAT?"
"Oh," blushed Leia. "Well I didn't know you were my brother when I said that. I was just repeating the story I've been telling all my life. By the time I realized that I had been talking about your mother too, well, you were off to fight Vader! I was going to tell you later, but we were kind of caught up with fighting Stormtroopers and sabotaging shield generators and generally defeating the Empire. You know, that kind of thing really keeps you busy."

Luke ignored her sarcasm and stared at her. "You didn't know you were my sister then?"
Leia shook her head. "No, I was never told I had a brother. Like I told you at the time though, somewhere deep down I did know. I sensed it. But I didn't know consciously, no. I always thought I was the only one.It does explain a lot of things, why mother was so sad all the time…"

"But you knew all along that Anakin was your father." Han interjected.
Leia sighed and glared at Anakin. "Well, I learned that later in life when I became a Senator."
"You KNEW?" gasped Luke. Anakin looked at her inquisitively.
"Didn't you wonder why I never reacted to finding out he was my father when you told me on Endor? I was horrified when I first found out, as you can imagine. I used to see Vader at the Senate meetings, throwing his weight around. I knew the things he had done. I just decided in my mind that Bail Organa was my father, and to never acknowledge that the cruel psycho in the black suit could ever be related to me. I still can't really accept it," she finished, giving another dark look towards the former Vader.

"Why didn't you tell me he was your father?" asked Luke, incredulous.
"It wasn't exactly something I wanted to advertise." Leia rolled her eyes. "He was your enemy, why would I want you to know I'm related to him? Besides, I never thought about him. Even when you told me he was your father I didn't connect right away that it meant we were related. I've never really considered him as my father." Her eyes narrowed in another hostile glare in Anakin's direction.

Anakin was still standing in frozen silence. "She's….she's alive?" he whispered.
Leia sighed, furious at herself. "Yes. I should never have told you! How do I know you've really changed, that you won't try to kill her like you did before?"
"He tried to kill her?" asked Luke, looking back and forth between them, trying desperately to catch up with all the new information.
"Yeah," said Leia through gritted teeth. "He used one of those force choke holds on her and choked her until she passed out. If Obi-Wan hadn't stopped him, all three of us would be dead right now."
"All three?" asked Han.
"Yeah," spat Leia in disgust. "She was pregnant at the time."

Anakin was met by horrified gasps from Luke and Han. He put his head down. "I don't really know what to say," he said. "I never meant to hurt her. I loved her. The dark side….you don't know what it's like until you're caught in it. It changes you, changes your mind. It twisted my love for her into something terrible. I believed she was against me. I believed that she and Obi-Wan were conspiring to destroy me. I even thought they might be having an affair together. Of course I know now that they were trying to help me, they were the two people I loved most in the world and who loved me. But I was so consumed…I can't make excuses for anything I did. But I feel that a fog has lifted from me and I can see again. I can think again."

Leia looked at him suspiciously, not sure whether to believe his story. "I don't know…"
"Please Leia," said Anakin earnestly. "You must take me to her!"
"Take you to her? After what you did? She's spent more than two standarddecades hiding from you. How the hell do you expect her to face you now? Should she just invite you in for jawa juice and pretend it never happened?" Leia was aghast.
Anakin lowered his head. "She may not want to see me. She may tell me to leave her and never come back. But I must try. We loved each other once. At least, I must apologize to her and show her that I have returned from the dark side."
Leia stared at him. "I really don't think so. I shouldn't have even told you she's alive."

Anakin reached to grab her, to shake her and force the answer out of her, then thought better of it. No. That is what Vader would have done. What was it Obi-Wan had always told him about patience? "I understand," he nodded quietly. "I will wait as long as it takes for you to trust me."

"That," said Leia, her eyes cold. "Will be a very long time. If at all. Which I doubt."

---

"I see you have learned the truth about Padme."

"Hello again, Obi-Wan," said Anakin, swiveling around to face the glowing form of his former Master.

"Yes...Leia let it slip out earlier today."

"And how do you feel about this?"

Anakin thought for a moment. "You were wise to hide her from me. She was not safe. I would have never given up until I found her. And I don't know what I would have done to her if I had."
Obi-Wan nodded. "This is what I thought."

"Part of me thinks that perhaps if I had known, I could have been saved earlier. I would have had a reason to come back. But if I am honest with myself, I know that my anger very likely would have killed her. And Palpatine would not have let me leave so easily. He would have come after bothof us.You did the right thing."

"I'm glad you see it that way," said Obi-Wan.

"But why did you take the children from her?" Anakin questioned him. "Was that her decision or yours?"
"Ours, I'm afraid," said Obi-Wan. "She was in a coma. We didn't expect her to live. Yoda and I thought it best if the children were separated and hidden from you and the Emperor."
"Probably a smart idea," sighed Anakin. "Together they would have created such a presence in the force that we may have sensed them."
"Exactly our thoughts," agreed Obi-Wan. "Jedi twins are much stronger than normal Jedi, especially when together. They would have stood out greatly."

"I understand. I just feel so sad for Padme, what she went through, losing her children like that. She wanted those babies. She deserved so much better."
"Yes she did Anakin," said Obi-Wan pointedly.
"So did everyone," mumbled Anakin, his head hanging. "I'm still trying to fix everything."
"Good Anakin. We have been watching you and you are making great strides. In that case, I have spoken with Yoda and we have a project for you," advised Obi-Wan.

"A project?"

"Yes, we would like you to continue Luke's training."
Anakin was speechless. "Train Luke? I – I can't. I'm too close to the dark side..."
"That is precisely the point," said Obi-Wan.
"What…why? You want Luke to train in the dark side?"
"Not as such. Yoda and I have had many years to deliberate on what went wrong with the Jedi Order."

"I can answer that," said Anakin. "Me."

"Well yes Anakin, but there's more to it than that. What was lacking in our training, that a Dark Lord of the Sith was able to walk amongst us and not one of us knew it? What was missing that made it so easy for you to be turned?"
"What? What was missing?"
"Yoda and I now believe that we made an error by not studying the dark side. We were taught to suppress any dark side emotions. We didn't learn what it was or how to recognize it."
"And you want me to train Luke in the dark side so he will learn about it? What if he can't come back?" asked Anakin in concern.
"I don't want you to turn Luke to the dark side. I want you to teach him about it, while continuing his Jedi training as you were taught. How the dark side works, how it feels, how to recognize and prevent it."

"Why me?"

"Who else?" said Obi-Wan. "There are no Jedi left. Yoda and I are limited in what we can teach. And we have no experience in the dark side. You are the only one who can train him."
"I'll talk to Luke about it," said Anakin, still feeling hesitant. "I will see what his thoughts are and if he agrees, we will begin the training."