Chapter 2

"Excuse me?" He spat, stepping one step away from the boy. "Please repeat."

He stuttered, looking Vader in the eye. They didn't look so yellow anymore, but a hint of blue. "Luke. Skywalker," he said matter-of-factly. "What's it to you?"

The dark lord coughed. "Do you have a… middle name, Luke?" He asked, still in shock.

Suddenly, the boy was afraid. Why did Darth Vader, dark lord of the Sith, care so much about a peasant boy, a mere farmer? "Uh – I think it's Anakin," he said, suddenly rambling. "But it only says that on the school roster."

Anakin, he thought, it's not a popular name, yet this boy has it. It's written plainly…The dark lord smiled, sneering, "Luke Anakin Skywalker. Is that a name from your father?" He asked. He didn't let Luke even answer the question. "How old are you, Luke?"

Luke smiled. "Ten, but almost eleven," he said proudly. "When I'm eleven I'll get to drive a – "

" – Land speeder," the dark lord finished. "You'll get your pilot's license, right?" He knew Tatooine's rules all to well. They had changed since twenty-two years ago – the laws had been altered, ever since coming in contact with the Empire and under it's rule. It was also almost eleven years ago that he had murdered his wife, and his child within the womb.

Or did he?

The boy nodded nervously.

"Do you live with you Mom, Luke?" He asked as carefully as he could. He could sense the boy's ultimate fear as of this moment, asking of his mother.

Luke gulped. "I know nothing of my mother, Lord Vader," he said, suddenly getting formal. "She died when I was born."

Nothing? How could you know nothing of your mother? He thought. Maybe this is all a lie. "What about your father?" He asked. The boy was obviously clueless.

Luke's shut his eyes briefly. "He died in battle, milord. He was a great man – or so I've heard."

Vader paused. Anakin Skywalker was a great man. He was a great leader, a great warrior, a great husband, a great friend – he could've been a great father, but he threw that away. "Yes," he said slowly, feelingly, "He was a great man."

Suddenly the boy wasn't at all frightened. In fact, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Vader with adoring eyes, and a bright smile, "You knew my father?"

"Oh yes," he answered, grabbing the boy by the arm. He smiled. "Everyone knew your father, Luke." He pushed Luke towards the clones. "Lock him in irons, Commander."

Vader could sense Luke's fear as he was pushed to the clones. His bright smiling face was gone immediately; Luke knew what was to become of him. He sensed the horror that he felt when they locked him the binders, and carried him away. Fool, he thought, all too easy. Fear leads to the dark side, my dear son.

He was on Tatooine for only one reason – to see his mother. He had stated previously that Sith Lords do not mourn, and they don't. They do not remember the past, and hark on it. He needed to forget Padmé. Gods, it had almost been eleven years since her death.

But finding Luke changes everything.

If Luke was his son, which was to be determined, that would change everything. But the boy had the package – the more he looked at him as he was being carried away, the more his features looked a little like Padmé's, as well. His eyes, hair, and his rebellious spirit were all entirely his father's – Anakin.

That was another thing. "He died in battle, milord. He was a great man – or so I've heard." Luke had said that. Anakin Skywalker was a truly remarkable Jedi Knight; there was no other like him that could match the speed and in intensity during the Clone Wars. But the dark lord wasn't Anakin anymore. The dark lord was the dark lord, Vader.

Anakin was gone.

A part of Vader still thought Anakin existed, deep within, and sometimes came out when thinking about the past. He had so many great memories, beginning with his mother and ending with his angel, his wife, Padmé. So many events happened in between, though – some great and some terrible. When Obi-Wan let him use a lightsaber for the first time – that was a golden moment. But every time he thinks of his mother's death – if he was an hour, a minute earlier…

"We're here, milord," the clone stated as the land speeder pulled up to the moisture farm.

Vader murmured thank you's, waving the clones off. He had no recollection of whether or not Owen Lars and his girlfriend, Beru, still resided here, but it had the looks as though the farm was still in operation. He weighed on whether to greet them, telling them that he was here (like there was anything they could do to stop him), but they were all ready outside.

Vader suddenly wondered if Beru was Beru Lars now. They didn't notice him – they seemed to be having an argument.

She was screaming now, "Are you sure he didn't tell you about staying after school today, or something?"

Owen sneered. In defeat, he sat down on the ledge and pressed his hands to his face. "No, Beru," he said through his palms, grudgingly. "He was supposed to be home – like he is everyday – after school at 300 hours."

That was two hours ago. Almost the same amount of time that he last saw Luke, and carried him away. It was too much of a coincidence. "Owen, Beru," he greeted, making them turn around to face him. Saying their names was his way of saying hello.

At first, they were speechless. He hadn't changed much over time – his hair was darker and longer, but something about him was… different. Wait; wasn't he supposed to be dead? "Anakin?" he coughed. "Anakin Skywalker?"

The dark lord faked a smile. "Surprised?" he seemed happy, peppy. But he wasn't. He face quickly turned dark. "I wouldn't be." He looked around him, the bright, open sand dunes seemingly never ending. "Love what you've done to the place, Owen. It seems as much of a wasteland as it was the last time I was here. Wait – let's see – when was that? Fourteen years ago?"

Owen nodded his head, not frightened by his dark humor. "Yes," he said. "I believe so, Anakin."

He looked in the distance. "No, not anymore – don't you watch the HoloNet?" Vader returned his stare blankly at his half-brother, looking him up and down with his yellow eyes. "So are you two – " he used his hands to make motions, pointing to both of them, "Married?"

Beru couldn't stand Anakin's constant bickering. She decided to fight back: "Yes, actually," she said wryly. "I believe it's something you and a certain senator did fourteen years ago, as well?"

She watched it as his face went dark, shadowy. His eyes flickered from yellow to blue, thinking about his wife… He spoke slowly, sadly, "How… did you know about… that?"

Owen and Beru exchanged nervous glances. They ignored his comment. "Why exactly are you here?"

Vader cleared his throat. "My mother is buried here," he stated simply, "I came to visit her grave, thank you."

"Oh," Beru said. She paused, turning to go, and had one last thought, "Oh, and Anakin?"

Vader didn't answer. "That name no longer has any meaning to me, Beru," he said finally, sadly. He crouched down next to his mother's grave, tracing her craved name with his fingers.

She turned to leave, muttering, "I thought so, Anakin."

"Hey, hey!" Luke yelled, struggling with the clones that had their hands on his arms. He pushed them away, but there was no use – he was cuffed, and being thrown in a prison cellar. "You can't do that to – hey, wait! Wait!"

His wrists were granted freedom, and the cuffs were gone. The door closed automatically, and the clones disappeared.

Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen are going to be so mad at me, he thought. "I guess I should just sit down," he muttered to himself, sitting on the bench that was laid out on the back wall.

Hours later (but what seemed like days later), he heard footsteps coming down the hallway, then a few buttons being pushed, and then – the door opened.

"Hello, Luke Anakin Skywalker," the man that Luke had met previously that day said.

He hated him. He hated that man – his yellow eyes, his dark clothing, and his oversized boots – hated. For one, he made fun of him in front of the entire Mos Eisley cantina. Two, he had that… feeling about him that made Luke feel uncomfortable. He only got this 'feeling' around certain people, usually intergalactic gangsters or pirates.

Not ordinary men.

But this man wasn't ordinary: he told him that he was an apprentice. A lord. Second in command, he had said. What in kriff but 'second in command' mean? This man was probably affiliated with the Empire…

But there was also something familiar about him…

Luke smiled weakly. "Hello, Darth Vader."

Vader motioned to the open space next to Luke. "Mind if I…?"

He shook his head. Then, he dropped the bomb, "Why am I here, 'Lord Vader'?" He watched Vader's expression change.

Before this, he was ultimately sad, then – he saw Luke's face and…

No. He wouldn't become weak at the sight of a child. Younglings…I've killed younglings but I can't look at my own son without becoming Anakin Skywalker again? "You have something about you, Young Skywalker," he told him, not exactly lying, "that captivates me. You – you are one of the few left that is force sensitive."

"Like a Jedi?"

Vader grinded his teeth, then said, "Why not?" He stifled a smile.

"Will I get to go back to the farm, Vader?" He wasn't afraid to use the Sith's name in vain – it was appealing to Vader, even. He wasn't afraid. Just like his mother…

Why did Padmé all of a sudden appear in everything that he thought of? Luke was like some journey to the past… he brought back memories of himself that he had merely forgotten. But just because the child survived doesn't mean Padmé did – and that was all that he cared about.

Palpatine had told him that he had killed Padmé. But how was that possible – she was definitely still with child when she had betrayed him on Mustafar. So how was this possible? How was Luke here, alive, and not Padmé?

Suddenly, Vader spat, "Where were you born, Luke?" He faced the boy, eye to eye.

Reluctantly, he snapped, "A medical ward on some asteroid… Polis Massa, I think." He was on edge unexpectedly.

"Is your mother alive?"

Luke sighed. "You've already asked me that, Lord Vader," he said, whining. "No, I told you – my mother died when I was born. She died in childbirth, I think. I don't know much about her."

It was a stab. A stab in the heart – she had died. She had died because he wasn't there… he wasn't there, and Palpatine had lied about the power to stop people from dying. It was uncontrollable. "The story is only a myth, my apprentice," he had told him once, at the year anniversary of her death.

"Are you okay?" Luke turned to look him in the eye. Vader's head was now hung, defeat. Sadness.

Vader sprung up, on edge as well. "Yeah, yeah," he replied nervously. He collected his cape, making sure not to step on it, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll see you at dinner, Luke."

Then he left.

A/N: Please review, guys! Thanks so much for the awesome feedback!