AN: Okay. So I'll let you all decide what to make of this chapter. I liked it, but I couldn't quite get my wording the way I wanted to and I hope it comes across the way I want it. I'm confident in it as it is. I just hope that it's not confusing.

Read, enjoy, and review!

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Chapter Thirty-six

Vader hadn't been this tense since he first turned to the dark side. There had been no turning back then either. But the difference between that day and his present was that he was more certain, a lot more certain. Twenty years ago he hadn't been sure of what he was doing. He hesitated about everything, asked himself what he was doing, if this was the way to save Padmé. It hadn't been and he regretted that he hadn't listened to that voice at the back of his head that told him to stop, that voice that he chalked to being paranoid and always suspicious. He should have listened. It was his paranoia (actually it was just his acute force senses) that saved his life all the time.

But he wasn't feeling any of that. In fact, he felt a strange calm and serenity about all this, despite the fact that Ahsoka and their unborn child were at stake. It was a feeling he tried to attain as a jedi but had never managed. He had been so focused on trying to live up to everyone else's expectations that he had forgotten what it was he was fighting for. Vader wasn't going to make that mistake again.

He lit his lightsaber to illuminate the stairs in front of him as he descended him and soon he came upon a large open room, a throne room he noted as he wondered if the emperor could be any more conceited. But he lost all thought when he saw Ahsoka chained to the said throne and looking more than a little bothered about it. If the situation weren't so grave, he might find it amusing. However, the emperor sitting on the throne next to her like she was his pet took all amusement out the scene.

"Lord Vader," he said to him. "I've been expecting you."

"I'm not surprised," Vader said as he chanced a glance at Ahsoka. "Are you alright?"

True to her nature, Ahsoka rolled her eyes and said, "It depends on how you define the term."

Vader took it as a yes but gave her a once over with the force anyway. Besides the fact that she was uncomfortably hot, she was fine.

The emperor scowled at the obvious affectionate exchange between them and used the force to pull on Ahsoka's chain a little to get her attention. She hissed at him and Vader stepped forward.

"Don't worry my apprentice. Your Jedi lover is fine," he said in obvious disdain. "Such a tragedy to have someone with your potential only to be flawed because of something as abstract and fleeting as love."

"I recall it's the reason I joined you to begin with," Vader stated.

"A means to an end," Palpatine replied. "I had hoped you would realize that it was useless feeling. But I overlooked the attachment you had to your former apprentice. Alas, I suppose it had its pluses."

Palpatine breathed deeply as he touched the dark side. "Two new children, born into the darkness. Surely you sense their potential."

"You'll never have either one," Vader said to him.

Palpatine cackled at him as he stood up. "But don't you see Lord Vader. I already have them, right in my grasp."

That was a good point. Palpatine had Ahsoka and any force sensitive could sense her pregnancy as it was such a vibrant presence. He could have taken her somewhere Vader would have never found her and gotten his apprentice.

"So why lead me here?" Vader asked.

"As much of a weakness as your loyalty and love for those you care about is," Palpatine began, "so long as such a bond exists between your family, I'll have the same problem with my new apprentice. Don't you see Lord Vader? I brought you all here to end this nuisance once and for all."

"I will kill you," Vader said raising his lightsaber, charging for an attack.

Palpatine however only cackled and raised his own lightsaber to block the attack.

"Your obsession for those you love is your weakness," Palpatine said to him. "Even now it makes you lose your focus. Your power in the dark side has weakened my apprentice."

"You underestimate my power," Vader said using the force to fling Palpatine back.

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"You know," Leia said to Luke as they got into a dueling stance. "I don't recall us ever dueling together."

"First time for everything sister," Luke said to her as they waited on the two adepts to attack.

When the two did, they struck hard and skillfully nearly threatening to overpower Luke and Leia with the first blow. Luke ducked under the man choosing to defend himself, but Leia used the force to push her opponent back. However when the two recovered, they didn't come back for Luke and Leia. Instead, they went past them and focused their attention on Shmi who Luke and Leia had forgotten.

"Shmi run," Leia yelled to her sister.

But she didn't. Instead she pulled herself down and Kishan shielded her as the female adept cut the railings. Leia snatched the two adepts back with the force giving Shmi the chance to get climb on Kishan's back. Kishan then jumped over the railing onto the ground below. The two adepts knocked Leia down, forcing her to break the hold she had on them and then followed.

"Shmi," Leia yelled as she leapt over the side of the bridge onto the hot ground to pursue her sister and the adepts, Luke hot on her heels.

"I didn't come here to chase a brat," the woman said using the force to snatch Shmi off of Kishan and fling her onto the ground. Shmi screamed as she landed and looked up as the female adept stood over her.

"Scared yet?" he asked.

Shmi narrowed her eyes despite her obvious disadvantage. "No."

"You should be little girl."

"My name's Shmi," she said.

"Well I guess it's only polite I give you my name. It's Lila" she said and prepared to strike her down.

Kishan let out a loud roar from behind Shmi and his shadow passed over her as he pounced on Lila, who used the force to throw him off. But Kishan had given Leia the time she needed to catch up and defend her.

"Leave my sister alone," Leia said angrily as she turned the woman to her and slammed her fist into her face.

"Interesting," MeLila said as she slowly rolled her head back forward. "The dark side of the force is strong in you… yet it remains untapped, untouched by you. Yet you don't use the light. I wonder why that is…"

"None of your concern," Leia said as the woman parryied her strike and swept her off her feet.

"I suppose not," MeLila said taking advantage of Leia's position as she pressed her blade down against hers.

Leia understood what her father meant when he said they would wish this was a regular hand or assassin. These adepts were powerful. She remembered a time when Ahsoka had fought and killed a hand and she hadn't sensed this kind of power.

Leia glared at her and reached her hand out swiftly to yank on Lila's hair, causing the woman to lose her footing. Leia tightened her grip on MeLila's hair and slammed her into the ground, MeLila's lightsaber flying out her hand somewhere. Leia got up to go over to Shmi who was clinging to Kishan nearby, but something was wrong with her.

"Mimi," she yelled getting up to go to the girl, but stopped when she felt something constricting her throat all of a sudden. Her hands flew to her neck as she pried at the invisible fingers.

"Leia!" Luke yelled from where he was sensing his sister's distress.

"Get away Shmi," Leia choked out.

Shmi didn't seem to hear it, but Kishan did and started to gently guide the girl away. Lila dropped Leia to the ground and she fell semi-conscious where she was.

"Not so fast little girl," MeLila said stopping Kishan from guiding her away. "Palpatine said this would be difficult… But you're all weak. So much power and potential all wasted because of your weak attachment to your mother."

Something inside Shmi snapped and brought Leia back to full consciousness as she witnessed Shmi reach under the pant of her outfit and bring out a blue colored lightsaber.

"I'll show you wasted power and potential," she said and screamed as she struck with an intensity Leia had only witnessed from her father.

The woman parried easily as Shmi was smaller and weaker but that was exactly what Shmi was going for as she pushed with her blade as hard as she could and walked up MeLila's front with her feet before kicking her hard in the chest succeeding in knocking the wind out of her and making her drop her light saber.

There was no hesitation in Shmi's movements as she brought her own saber right down MeLila's front. MeLila fell dead on the ground.

"Mimi…" Leia said in amazement and then rushed to her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"The darkness took over," she whispered.

Leia looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Daddy told me one day I'd learn to control it," Shmi replied and then said. "I think I'm starting to learn. It was different than those other times."

"Different?" Leia said as she looked at Shmi. What did that mean? Leia looked to the force for an answer and what she got back enlightened her. Her sister's actions had been dark, that was for sure, but they had a certain light to them that kept the darkness in check. Leia prodded at it and figured that that light was the love Shmi had for her mother and sister. Of course it was tinged with a bit of arrogance and like Shmi said, she hardly had control over it, but it was kept in check.

Leia turned to glare at Maverick. She hated him and she wasn't afraid to admit that she held hate in her heart anymore, for the Jedi, the emperor, the rebellion but it wasn't empty hate, not because of vanity. She hated because she loved her family and the one thing these people had denied her all those years, freedom.

She felt the darkness stir gleefully in her but she didn't let it take over. Now she understood what everyone meant when they said she was more inclined to the darkness. She was born to use the darkness. It felt right for her in a way the light of the Jedi never had. The key was not letting the darkness take over, like her father had done, like the Jedi had been blinded by their own light. The darkness was her passion, passion tempered by logic, the light of the force. The galaxy needed both, not one in control of the other.

Leia stood up, her hair falling out its elegant bun as she looked up at Maverick who Luke was successfully holding back. He was a powerful Jedi, Leia gave him that. But she wasn't a Jedi and it wasn't him that needed her help.

"Stay here," she said to Shmi. "I'm going to help dad."

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Ahsoka tugged in vain at her chains as she watched Palpatine and Vader duel. Vader was more powerful than this, but he was in conflict with himself, losing focus on the real goal, the very reason he had lost his duel to Obi-wan in addition to arrogance. She hated to admit it, but she rather him duel completely immersed in the dark side than in conflict like this. It split his attention. The question what was his conflict about?

"See how weak you've become?" Palpatine said to him. "You were foolish to ignore your destiny, the power of the dark side."

Vader groaned and pushed back against Palpatine's blade.

"You will fail again, just as you failed to save your wife. You have failed again," Palpatine said and force pushed Vader away from him.

Ahsoka noticed the look in Vader's eyes. He hated to be reminded of his failures. Palpatine was just fueling him on. Vader stood back up to fight the emperor again. He would not be mocked…

"At this moment my adepts are on the surface prepared to kill your children and after that, so shall I kill your lover… But I'm inclined to be merciful again," Palpatine said to him. "Turn yourself and your family over to my service, the way of the sith and they will be spared."

"Anakin no!" Ahsoka said without thinking. Desperation had turned Vader down this path to begin with, that and confusion. "Yes you failed once, but remember what you told me? Thinking about what's at stake drives you. You know what you almost lost once, what you can lose again if you don't do something different. You failed before, but you don't have to again. You can kill him! This is your destiny."

His destiny Vader mused… He didn't know what his destiny was anymore. The Jedi were gone and then he'd kill the Sith and then what would be left. What would he have accomplished? For what reason?

"Anakin!" Ahsoka yelled again.

Palpatine grew impatient at that point. "You don't have an answer? Then the Jedi dies."

Vader raised his blade. He might have been unsure of his destiny. But there was always one thing he was sure of. Ahsoka…

He tried to slash the emperor across his chest but Palpatine jumped back and slammed Vader back, his lightsaber falling somewhere in the room. Then Palpatine's fingers cackled with force lightning before he aimed it to Ahsoka who was still pulling viciously at her chains. Vader didn't even bother trying to locate his light saber. He ran across the room and got in the direct path of the lightning, shielding her with his own body as Palpatine poured lightning onto him.

Palpatine stopped his attack and scowled in disgust at him.

"Just as a woman was your downfall before my apprentice, so shall it be again," he said. "To think you'd throw everything I offer you away for her."

He poured more force lightning onto them again. Vader groaned, but withstood the attack and writhed on the ground as the lightning burned him.

"Stop it," Ahsoka screamed as she tried to run to him, but the chains painfully jerked her back. "Damn it!"

Palpatine stopped as he laughed. "So pathetic. But don't worry. You will die too…" he said.

"We all have to die someday. But at least I'll die knowing I sent you packing to your Sith hell where you belong."

A blue blade came crashing down on Palpatine who directed lightning toward it.

"Leia," Ahsoka said to the young woman who was trying to push Palpatine's lightning back. It was a lost cause. Palpatine would eventually overpower her, but Leia was putting up one hell of a fight.

"Ahsoka…"

Ahsoka turned her attention to the Sith Lord who was struggling to get up after the vicious attack on him.

"Vader," she muttered unable to get to him. Noticing this, Vader looked around for his lightsaber and summoned it him as he made his way to kneel next to her, his lightsaber easily cutting through the bonds on her neck and wrist.

"I want you and Leia to get out of here," he said to her. "Just in case…"

"You're not going to die," Ahsoka said determined.

Vader laughed. "Ask Shmi that," he said seriously. "I think she saw it. This is my destiny and you all have helped me fulfill it. I get it now."

"I'll help you."

"You've done enough Ahsoka," Vader said weakly. "You and Leia have done more than enough."

Ahsoka glared at him, her jaw set in an angry glare as she started to fight him, but Vader pressed his lips to hers succeeding in silencing her.

"I just want you to know that I never showed you enough and a lot of times I never acted like it, but I do love you. I was just afraid to admit it. I'm sorry I doubted you," he said touching her face.

"No," Ahsoka replied. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

He smiled, pulling his hand back as he started to walk away from her.

But Ahsoka wasn't letting him go anywhere. She stood to her feet, shakily as she hadn't stood up in a while and cursed when she saw that she didn't have her lightsaber with her.

"Oh forget it," she said rushing over to where Palpatine had gotten the upper hand over Leia, almost succeeding in taking off both her hands.

Vader blocked the attack.

"Never could get you to stay down long," he said. "Always running away from your destiny."

"You're right. I did run away from it, but not anymore. I'm facing it now," Vader declared. "Today, you will die!"

The ground began to shake as Vader let out a battle cry, unleashing power that Ahsoka, nor Leia had seen him display.

Get out of here.

Both Ahsoka and Leia heard Vader's warning and the two reluctantly began to make their way towards the stairs that would lead to the bridge. Vader was about to make the whole fortress come down. They had barely made it onto the stairs when they felt the force warn them, but not the frantic warning telling them to get a move on. It was cloaking them.

"Daddy," Leia screamed as she looked back to where Palpatine and Vader were. She caught a resigned smile on his face as the room collapsed in on itself and fell onto the two Sith Lords, burying then under the rubble.

"Daddy!" she screamed again as the fortress, having lost half its foundation began to slide down the slope into the lava.

Ahsoka grabbed Leia.

"Come on. We have to go back that way," she said referring to the direction where the pile of rubble and wall had just buried the emperor and Vader. "Climb up the slope!"

"What about daddy?" Leia said stubbornly refusing to go.

"You go ahead," Ahsoka said to her with a determined glint in her eyes and Leia understood as she went ahead and climbed through the lava to get higher on the slope.

Ahsoka headed the same way, but instead began to look through the rubble. Vader wasn't dead. She hadn't felt him die and that meant she wasn't leaving until she had him. Ahsoka had left him on this hell planet to die once and she wasn't doing it again.

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AN: So as I wrote this I remembered that in Return of the Jedi there was no elaborate duel that someone won to kill the emperor. All Vader did was throw the guy down a shaft. So I wanted to mimic that simplicity and thus the collapsing building came into play. Because any star wars fan knows that the end wasn't about how Vader killed the emperor. It was about that he did it and redeemed himself to save his son. (Shrugs). That's just my opinion. Okay. I'm not even hinting what's going to happen but just know that I had the next chapter in mind from the time I wrote this story. You know, when I wrote this, I religiously listened to the Return of the Sith soundtrack so some parts of the music goes with this chapter and many ot the last couple of chapters. Anyway, I gotta go. My garden needs a tending.

Hope you enjoyed. Review Please!