I'm sorry, I just had to write it, we've hit the point that I've been dreaming about for months. (It's always the end I obsess over in my mind before I finally get to write it haha)

I will get to my other stories as well, I promise, I've been writing on inspiration and time more than routine recently.

Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! And I have taken not of your, ah, STRONG opinions of what happened...

But what happens from here on out is sort of set in stone. When you've been dreaming about this part of the story as long as I have, you don't change the ending haha.

There were...A LOT of comments about Mara's actions in the last chapter, and for all of you that asked Mara questions I kind of brushed on those topics in this chapter. And those Vader requests...I don't know, let me mull over that hehehehe. No more comments there mwahahahahaha!

I hope questions are answered (and some are created) in this next chapter! PLEASE review, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the feedback!

And look! I got it to you rather quickly, you didn't have to wait forever this time haha.

Enjoy!

Anakin didn't take long in getting ready to depart. In fact, the only thing that was keeping him from leaving was this entire business of everyone wanting to go and the fact Padme was in a near panic due to past experiences.

"Anakin, you can't expect me to let you go alone!" Padme said in exasperation as Anakin tried to sooth her. They were standing on the landing pad with Padme fighting with Anakin, who was attempting to go on this particular trip alone.

"Angel, I don't want anyone else hurt, enough people have been hurt as it is," Anakin plead with her gently.

"You're insane if you think that any of us are going to let you go alone Skyguy," Ahsoka said flatly, eyeing him menacingly. Obi-Wan was standing beside her, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"It's a fool's errand if you go alone Anakin; you'll end up captured, killed…" Obi-Wan trailed off as he noticed his words, while meant to talk some sense into Anakin, were causing Padme to fall into further distress.

"Please, let someone else handle this for once Ani, you don't need to be there!" Padme plead.

"I do," Anakin said firmly. "You know I have to Padme; not only am I the only one strong enough to handle Sidious, but he's our son. What kind of a Father would I be if I wasn't rushing to his rescue?"

"Well no matter what, I'm coming with you," Galen suddenly said from the doorway. Juno stood beside him. "It's not just Sidious that we're dealing with Anakin. And Luke's my friend, practically my brother."

Anakin held out a hand. "All the more reason for you not to come. Luke…Luke isn't himself, and I wouldn't be surprised if he held nothing against attacking you in his current state." Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan. "I'm speaking from experience."

"Well I'm still coming. Someone's got to watch your back," Galen said stubbornly.

"And I'm coming with you too," Leia said, suddenly appearing from down the hallway with Han and Chewbacca at her side. She was dressed for action, obviously expecting to leave the house with Anakin on what appeared to be swiftly turning into a crusade of sorts.

"Absolutely not!" Anakin said sternly. "I have already lost your brother; I'm not going to risk losing you too!"

"Are you saying there's no hope for Luke?" Leia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not saying that, I'm just—"

"Father, he's my brother; I must go, even if I take my own ship after you leave. You can't stop me," Leia said stubbornly.

"Why can't anyone understand I don't want anyone else hurt and that is why I need to go alone?" Anakin asked in exasperation.

"Because none of us are going to let you walk off to your death. Sorry Anakin, but no one is going to let you go alone," Han said with a smirk.

Chewbacca roared in agreement.

"Well not all of you can come," Anakin said with a frown. Padme was still clutching tightly to his arm, but he hardly noticed anymore. In fact, he felt like he might have lost all feeling in that arm by this point…

"Then it will be Galen and me that come with you. Han and Chewy will fly us there in the Falcon and be ready for a getaway just in case," Leia said easily.

Anakin frowned. He hardly liked that idea, even if it was just Sidious, Mara…and his son that they would be facing.

"And me. I'll come with you," Ahsoka chipped in.

"Yeah, the old man can stay here and watch over the girls," Han said with a grin. Obi-Wan scowled whilst Juno uttered an offended 'excuse me?' that was obviously ignored. Padme only had her eyes for Anakin.

"You promised me last time that you would bring Luke and yourself back safely…can you keep that promise this time? Will you be able to bring them both back?" she asked seriously. Silence fell over the landing pad.

Anakin felt his heart ache. His angel had been through too much; she truly had. Gently, he grasped her arms. "I will Angel…I promise you I will," he said firmly, meeting her chocolate gaze fully with his own icy blue.

His com link went off, shattering their moment. Anakin made a frustrated noise and snatched the device up. "Now what?" he grumbled to himself before he responded to the call with a sharp, "What?"

There was a moment of silence before Mace Windu's cool voice came through; it was obvious he hadn't appreciated Anakin's tone, but Anakin didn't particularly care at the moment. "Skywalker…I do hope you aren't too busy, but Master Yoda has requested he see you immediately."

Anakin blinked, a little startled. "No disrespect Master Windu, but is it something that can wait?"

"No Skywalker, it is not. Master Yoda is on his deathbed."

Eius heard the gentle rap on his door sometime later. Just how much time had passed since he had rushed out of the torture chamber, he didn't know. What he did know was that he still had not found the source of what was making him feel so different, or figured out why his eyes had suddenly become blue again.

The rap came again and Eius scowled in annoyance, but rose from his bed. It had to be Mara; Sidious didn't bother to knock.

The door slid back, and sure enough Mara was on the other side, leaning against the doorframe. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to invite me inside or just stare at me all day?"

Eius rolled his eyes, but stepped aside to let her in, shutting the door behind her. "What do you want Mara?"

"I came to check on you. You were really rattled when you left earlier," she said vaguely, assuming her normal seat on his couch.

"You haven't been quite yourself since then either. I can sense how uncomfortable you are Mara, it's pretty obvious. Though I'll admit, the guilt is harder to detect," Eius said evenly, reaching for a bottle of champagne and pouring them two glasses. Mara was silent even as he handed her a glass. "What's on your mind Mara?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," she said lightly, swirling the champagne in her glass. Eius scowled.

"I would tell you if I knew, but I don't," he said shortly, looking away. "I just know something feels…different."

"Like, familiar different?" Mara asked curiously, shifting closer. Eius shook his head.

"I don't know…it's almost like…something was removed…purged," Eius said with a frown.

Mara studied him for a moment, thinking hard. "I don't know…you say purged and I think purged of the dark side, or Sith Poison," she finally said, sitting straight and taking a sip of her drink.

Eius rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I haven't been cut off from the dark side. I would know…" he frowned once more, thinking of the last suggestion as he trailed off. He had hardly thought of the Sith Poison for…well…weeks. But how could it have suddenly been purged, and why?

Luke.

Of course. Whatever had happened down there, that brief merge…perhaps Luke's strong light side presence had purged it from his system with the help of the Force…it was the best explanation he could come up with. Wasn't Sith Poison purged with a concentration of light powers and sheer will anyway?

Eius shook his head and took a drink. "Perhaps…something did happen to get rid of the Sith Poison…but don't ask me what, I don't think I can explain it."

Mara said nothing as he looked at her, and he noted that she looked away whenever he tried to make eye contact. "So what's going on with you? I told you, now you tell me; it's only fair."

Mara sighed, watching the bubbles in her glass. "I can't stop thinking about…"

Eius watched her for a moment, trying to narrow down what she was talking about before it hit him. Jealousy and anger surged strongly through him as he stood up from the couch. "Oh, I see, it's Luke that's on your mind," he spat, slamming his glass on the coffee table.

Mara was hardly even phased by his outburst. "I just…don't feel right about what I did. I feel so guilty about it…it's not the first time I've doubted Sidious' orders; I started doubting quite a few towards the end of my career as an Emperor's Hand. But this one…I can't get the look on his face out of my head," she murmured, taking another sip of her drink.

"Maybe you should leave," Eius said dangerously, his tone chilling.

Mara finally graced him with a glance, standing up. "You know, I know that you're so adamant that you and him are not the same people, but not only do you share the same height, the same features, the same voice, the same eyes," she said, breaking his gaze for a moment to regain control of herself. It seemed she couldn't bring herself to look into the blue eyes that matched Luke's to the letter after her betrayal. "You share the same personalities, you share strategies…you are the same people essentially. I see no difference between the Luke down there, and the Luke that grew up with me in the Jedi Temple. The Luke down there has definitely been through more and lost more, but other than that…I'm sorry Eius, but you are essentially the same person, and that's not something I can forget. The only thing separating you, keeping you two different right now, is your choice in sides of the Force. Now since I know how much you hate being told you two are the same, I will leave now that I've finally said that, though not without saying this; I regret what I did. I did grow to care for him down there; it wasn't all an act. I care for him just as I care for you, and I have a hard time seeing a difference between the two of you. Now, no matter who I'm looking at, I won't be able to forget the fact that I betrayed that trust that was given to me, and that betrayal is going to haunt me every time I look in your blue eyes or his. Good night Eius."

She left after that, leaving Eius utterly shocked. He stood frozen in place for several moments before he too stormed out into the hall, fuming over the nerve she had to say such things to him. Luke and Eius were nothing alike. He wasn't anything like the Jedi!

Well, actually…

Eius scowled at the annoying little voice that had decided to take up residence in the back of his mind recently, shutting it up as quickly as it had appeared. Mindlessly he roamed the halls. It was better if he just walked off all of his frustration instead of destroying things; he was sure his Master wouldn't appreciate the vandalism.

Why was everyone constantly trying to put the two of them together? It wasn't that hard of a concept to grasp; Eius was one person, Luke was another.

Eius' blood boiled as his thoughts stirred up again. Not only had Luke claimed Eius' family and friends, but it seemed he had claimed Mara as well. He really had moved to take everything from Eius, and it seemed he'd been successful too.

Haven't you worn out that excuse by now?

Eius pushed the voice back to its spot in the back of his mind.

The Force seemed to have decided to torment Eius further, because he found himself down a certain hall, in front of a specific door. For a moment, he thought of turning around and headed back to his room. His temper was already cooling, leaving him drained and exhausted. It would probably be best if he went back to his room to rest.

However, instead of turning around to head back to the room, Eius found himself opening the door in front of him and stepping over the threshold before he could think twice about what he was doing.

He was not met with any sound of movement, no sarcastic remarks, or even an acknowledgement of his presence through the Force. It was purely silent before a rasping cough broke the silence, followed by a gurgling, hacking sound. Eius shut the door behind him and ignited his lightsaber so he could see Luke.

He looked worse than death.

Luke was curled into a pitiful fetal position, huddled up against the wall. His breathing was shallow and raspy, his face turned towards the wall so that Eius couldn't see him. As Eius studied him, the strange gurgling, hacking sound returned, and Eius watched as Luke hunched over, trembling as he coughed up an unhealthy amount of blood.

There was a few moments of silence before Eius slowly approached him. The silence in the room bothered him, but he didn't break the silence.

Crouching down, Eius took a hold of Luke's chin, surprised he was met with no resistance from Luke as Eius made Luke look him in the eyes. There wasn't much to look at; his eyes looked dead and empty, devoid of any of the fire Eius had grown accustomed to seeing in them. Eius shook his head.

"He really did break you this time, didn't he?" Eius mumbled to himself. Luke suddenly trembled under his grasp and Eius let go of his chin just in time as Luke coughed up blood once more. The sight caused Eius to wince, despite himself; he could feel Luke's signature wavering, flickering, preparing to go out at any moment.

He sat there watching him for a few moments before Luke surprised him once more and spoke. "Either lead me away…or leave me lying here…at least…let me die in peace…"

His words struck some deep cord in Eius, who stood up and promptly left without another word.

He was back after just a few minutes.

He took the time to balance his lightsaber carefully on one of the manacles on the wall, getting it to sit right so that it acted as a torch in the room. Glancing over where he'd left Luke, he noticed the Jedi was lying on the floor, weaker than when he'd left him and even closer to death. Silently, Eius crossed the room to Luke's still form, rolling him from his facedown position back upright so that he could look him over.

Mara was so much better at healing than he was, but he was still going to try.

Through the Force, Eius located Luke's serious injuries, the ones that were killing him. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that his efforts would be pointless if Luke had lost the will to live, but he ignored the voice. He focused on his current task of healing the many severe injuries he could sense, including some internal bleeding and a punctured lung.

He felt awkward holding the Jedi's limp form in his arms afterwards, trying to get Luke to sit up and trying to rouse him from his unconscious state. He glanced over at the door where he had left a large bucket of water and a cup, calling it over with the Force before scooping a full cup and pressing the cup to Luke's unresponsive lips.

"Come on…wake up…" Eius murmured, tipping the cup so the cool water ran down Luke's chin and neck. Sure enough, the Jedi stirred and sputtered slightly, and Eius tightened his grip on him, coaxing him out of his unconsciousness. Instinctively, Luke eagerly gulped down the water that Eius offered him. Eius started with just a little at a time, not wanting to accidentally drown Luke. Soon, Luke became more responsive, weakly grasping at the cup and fervently downing the water. When that cup was gone, Eius simply scooped up another full cup, offering it to Luke. Luke took no time in accepting, downing the second cup faster than the first, and the third faster than the second, and so on and so forth.

Once Luke's eager pace had finally slowed, Eius pulled a warm loaf of bread he had smuggled out of his cloak, offering it to Luke. Luke took the bread hesitantly, eyeing Eius warily for several moments before he spoke.

"Why?" Luke asked, his voice raspy and breaking on the last letter.

Why indeed, Eius couldn't help but wonder. Why am I doing this?

"It's not right for you to stop fighting. You can't give up, you've got to keep fighting," Eius heard himself say, though it sort of felt like an out of body experience as he said it.

Luke looked at him dubiously; a look that was rather hard to pull off in his pitiful state. "Why don't you switch places for a little while and see if you're still fighting," he finally rasped sarcastically.

Eius could help but smirk a little. "It's nice to know that your humor has survived."

Luke shook his head, still cradling the fresh bread like a precious newborn child. "Why should you care? I'm just going to die soon anyway."

Whatever was holding Eius there broke at Luke's words, and Eius stood up swiftly; luckily Luke hadn't been leaning on him for support anymore. He was resting against the wall once again. In a few short strides, Eius had crossed the room and was standing by the door, lightsaber once more in hand. He hesitated before he turned around and answered Luke's last question.

"If you do die…you're going to die a true Skywalker, and not a broken man, or I'll be damned," he said firmly before he turned and left, not waiting to see Luke's expression.

"More-so than I already am," he couldn't help but mutter as he left the cell behind as quickly as he could.

Anakin didn't even bother to knock once he had arrived at Yoda's quarters in the Jedi Temple. He was positive that the ancient Jedi Master could sense him outside of the room anyway.

Yoda was resting on a bed pushed up against a wall. Master Windu sat on one of the round cushion chairs nearby, his usual frown deeper than normal as he watched Yoda in concern. Windu was the one to look up when Anakin entered the room.

"Masters," Anakin murmured, taking the seat beside Windu and looking warily at Yoda. "You called for me Master Yoda?"

Yoda nodded slowly, gathering his voice. "Yes Skywalker. Talk, we must."

"Master, if I may ask, what's wrong?" Anakin asked, watching Yoda closely with growing concern.

"Sick have I become…old and weak I am…" Yoda said slowly. "Soon will I forever sleep…earned it I have…"

I knew that; I was hoping for a little more explanation, but all right, Anakin thought to himself. "Master Yoda, we need you here, you can't die now," Anakin said, doing his best to keep his voice from a pleading tone. Yoda chuckled slightly.

"Said the same thing…Luke did, when my time came," Yoda said weakly.

Anakin looked away, a sudden sharp pain going through his heart before he took a steadying breath and returned his gaze to Yoda. A voice in the back of his mind nagged at him that he needed to leave, that he couldn't just keep sitting here.

"Found him…you did…" Yoda said slowly. Anakin nodded.

"Yes Master. Sidious has him on Byss; I was just about to leave when you called me here."

"Without telling the Council?" Yoda asked, ears twitching. Anakin frowned.

"The situation is pressing I…I saw what was happening and…I don't have much time left to recover him," Anakin said hesitantly. He could feel Windu's gaze boring into him, but he simply ignored him.

Yoda nodded. "Felt the Force…shift…I did…go there, you must. Confront Sidious…and your son…but first…"

Yoda coughed and Anakin winced, feeling so helpless just sitting at his bedside. He couldn't help but reach over and adjust the blanket over Yoda so that he was covered better. Yoda sighed in weak contentment. "Master…" Anakin murmured.

"Twilight is upon me, and soon, night must fall…that is the way of things…the way of the Force…" Yoda murmured. "Still hope for your son…there is…the recent disturbance…caused it, he did. Changed…something…has…"

"What about Luke?" Anakin asked.

Yoda visibly wilted a little more. "Clouded…he has…become…no longer sure…of his fate…"

Yoda's speech was slowing. "Master, is that all you had to tell me?" Anakin asked curiously, shoving the irritation aside. Now wasn't the time for those feelings, and he didn't want to feel guilty for having those feelings in Yoda's last moments.

Yoda's breathing was raspy by now. "When...gone…I am…the Grandmaster…you shall be…"

"Master Yoda!" Windu immediately objected. Anakin sat in stupefied shock.

"R…revealed this…to me…the Force…has…will…of…the…Force…it…is…" Yoda's voice started to flicker and die, but Anakin wasn't ready to accept the ancient Jedi's death.

"Master Yoda, please…I…I am hardly worthy to be the Grandmaster…" Anakin said weakly.

"Force's…will…it is…to your…son…now…go…need you…he…"

Anakin hung on Yoda's every word until he realized that the wizened Jedi Master had indeed breathed his last breath before he could even finish his last sentence. Anakin suddenly felt as if the ground wasn't under him anymore as he watched Yoda's body disappear into the Force.

Slowly, he stood, trying not to collapse under the weight that was suddenly bearing down on his shoulders.

"Skywalker," Windu called firmly.

Anakin stopped by the door but did not turn to acknowledge him further.

"The Council will discuss the matter at length before we agree with Master Yoda's decision," Windu said sternly.

"That's fine with me Master Windu. Though before I can be graced with such a position, I believe I have to return from this confrontation alive. The Council has plenty of time to make a decision, and I will not be able to attend the discussions. May the Force be with you," Anakin said smoothly before opening the door.

"Skywalker," Windu said again before Anakin could leave. "May the Force be with you too."

Anakin couldn't help but smile slightly as he left Yoda's chambers behind.

It seemed so unreal that the Grandmaster was truly gone.

Unfortunately for Eius, it did not take long for Sidious to discover what had happened. For the first few moments, Eius had wondered how his Master had even figured out that Eius had visited Luke, least of all treated the Jedi. After he thought about it for a moment, he realized it was actually pretty obvious considering Luke's better health, healed injuries, and a return of just a little fire in his eyes. It seemed Eius had managed to drag some remnant of Luke's fighting spirit out of the Jedi, just enough so that Luke would live another day.

If Sidious didn't kill them both in his current rage, that was.

Eius had been called, unsuspecting, to the torture chamber, under the pretense he was just delivering Luke for another session and receiving a briefing on an upcoming situation. The two had said nothing to each other, and Eius did his best to keep his head bowed and eyes hidden; the last thing he wanted was for Sidious to see his recent eye color change and get suspicious.

Eius had done as Sidious had asked; clasping Luke in the manacles on the wall, front facing the wall. He had the feeling he knew what Sidious planned on doing to Luke, but didn't let himself worry about it as he bent on one knee in front of Sidious. When the silence prolonged, Eius finally realized that something was very, very wrong.

The conversation that had followed—if it could even be called a conversation—was how he had ended up lying on the ground, smoking, in severe pain from the shock treatment Sidious had given him for his actions. Eius wanted to slip into unconsciousness, but would not allow himself to display that kind of weakness in front of Sidious. Screams of pain, however, was an exception to him at the moment.

Eius suddenly felt himself lifted through the Force, clasped into the manacles next to Luke's. The Jedi was stretching out to Eius through the Force in concern, but Eius ignored him.

It would be the last time Eius even thought of helping the Jedi.

Those thoughts were reinforced when the crack of a whip rang through the air and the sharp pain down Eius' back registered. He grit his teeth as another crack sounded, though this time it was Luke beside him who cried out, but more from shock than pain. He, like Eius, hadn't been expecting the whip to hit him. The next crack was Eius' lash though, then Luke's again, and so on and so forth. After the first lash, neither of them made a sound more than the occasional grunt, though Eius was starting to feel a little light headed. He couldn't speak for Luke though. He was sure that in his weakened state the Jedi was bordering unconsciousness by now.

Finally, Eius' manacles were released, and he fell to his hands and knees. His back was on fire, but he dragged himself to his feet and kneeled at Sidious' feet without a word about his punishment, or why he had received it. Sidious studied him closely for several moments, prodding at Eius' presence through the Force. Eius kept himself as impassive as possible, still as a statue with his head bowed low in submission.

"Now that you have effectively learned your lesson…we have guests coming, thanks to our Jedi friend over there," Sidous hissed. Eius tensed, resisting the urge to flinch that the pain in his back caused.

"Guests, Master?" he asked cautiously.

"It seems Skywalker's family and friends are coming for him; I have no doubt that Anakin finally located us," Sidious said, hands clasped behind his back.

"Are we moving again Master?" Eius asked warily.

"No, my young apprentice…let them come…we shall be waiting for them…make sure that Skywalker is on hand when they do arrive."

Eius did his best not to shift uncomfortably. What was Sidious up to? It wasn't like his Master to be this vague with Eius.

Or was it? Just how much had Sidious been keeping from him?

"It shall be done Master," Eius said smoothly.

"See to it that it is," Sidious hissed. "And don't treat those lashes; on either of you."

Eius scowled only when Sidious had exited the room, gingerly getting to his feet and groaning softly at the strain it put on his back. He glanced over at Luke, who was hanging limply from the manacles, still conscious.

With a wave of his hand, the manacles released and Luke fell to the floor just as ungracefully as Eius had. Eius grasped Luke under the arm, pulling him to his feet.

"Let's make it well known between us that I'm never going to help you again," Eius said coldly.

Luke wasn't paying him any attention. "He's…finally going to kill me…I can tell…" Luke murmured.

"Ah, I believe he still wants you alive, in case you missed that part," Eius said sarcastically.

Luke shook his head. "He'll…kill me in front of…Anakin…I know he will. Luke—"

Eius grit his teeth in aggravation. "My name is not Luke anymore."

"It is the name of your true self, you've only forgotten."

Eius froze. "What did you say?"

Luke's blue eyes met Eius' own. "You heard me."

Eius, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable, dragged Luke forward again a little faster, eager to get the Jedi back in his cell. "I don't want to hear anymore," he said stubbornly.

Luke sighed wearily as they came to a stop outside his cell. Eius opened the door, ready to shove him inside, but Luke braced himself on the doorframe, obviously not done talking yet.

"Fine then Eius, don't listen to me; but Sidious will kill me. And when he does, you can't let him kill Anakin."

"Why should I care?" Eius asked forcefully.

"Because no matter what you say he's still your father, and the reason you joined the dark side in the first place was so that he could live. All of this would be even more meaningless if you let him die!" Luke said adamantly.

Eius pushed him in the room without another word.

"Eius, please—!"

The door slid shut before he could finish. Eius let out a long breath, turning away from the door and slowly making his way back to his room. He did his best not to think of how his shirt was ripped to shreds in the back, or how he was sure he was bleeding quite profoundly.

When he reached the door, he heard a voice he didn't particularly feel welcoming to.

"Eius!"

"Mara," Eius said stiffly, opening the door. Mara stopped short when she took in the bloody mess that was his back.

"What happened?" she asked, following him into his room before he could shut her out. He growled angrily, wishing she'd leave him alone.

"Does it really matter?" he hissed, crossing the room to get a fresh shirt out of his closet and moving slowly to get what remained of his current one off of him.

"Let me help you with that," Mara insisted, coming beside him. He tried to shrug her off.

"I don't need your help," he growled, eyes flashing golden for a moment before they returned to their normal blue.

"Well, you're still going to get it," Mara said stubbornly, helping him to peel the tattered remains off of him. She put a hand on his injured back, but he grabbed her hand, ignoring the fact that it was slick with blood from the brief contact.

"Don't heal it, or you'll make my situation even worse," he said firmly.

Mara's eyebrows rose, her mind connecting the dots rather quickly. "This was a punishment? For what?"

"Let's not talk about why, shall we?" Eius said sourly, rolling up the shirt he was preparing to put on.

"At least clean it first," Mara said in irritation, grabbing the shirt from him and fishing a clean pair of pants out of the closet as well. "Go wash up."

Eius scowled at her in irritation, but took the clothes back from her and headed to the refresher. It was a long, painful process to wash the injury off, but the hot water eased his back muscles, making the pain a little more bearable. And the feeling of the water running over his torso as he braced himself against the refresher wall was soothing. After he finished drying off and dressed, he left the refresher, surprised to find Mara still in his bedroom.

"What are you still doing here?" Eius asked in annoyance. Mara slid off of his bed, grabbing his cloak off one of the chairs and wrapping it around his shoulders.

"What, I can't be worried about you? You've been acting different recently—"

"So have you," Eius pointed out, cutting her off. Mara just kept talking.

"—you're injured—"

"I deserve it for my weakness."

"—and we haven't had any one on one time since I got out of that cell," she finally finished.

"You were up here not too long ago, if I recall correctly," Eius said sourly. In his mind, he blamed her for his moment of weakness with the Jedi. If she hadn't put him in such a rage about the Jedi then he wouldn't have gone down to the basement in the first place and he'd probably be rid of Luke by now.

"I'm not counting our argument, if you can even call it that," Mara said with a roll of her eyes, advancing on him seductively. "I'm talking about this," she said lowly, wrapping an arm around his neck.

Eius' anger faltered at the motion. In all reality, Mara and Eius had spent quite some time together, and their time wasn't spent simply talking. "I thought you preferred Luke?" Eius asked scathingly.

"I never said I preferred either of you," Mara pointed out, leaning in closer and kissing him passionately. He responded with his own rough kiss, pulling her closer to him.

"Mmm…I bet he doesn't live up to my skills in this department…" Eius said with a small twisted smile in-between their kiss.

"You're definitely…rougher…" she said breathlessly.

After a few intense moments, Eius peeled her away from him, hands on her hips. She looked up at him questioningly.

"My father's coming," he said after a few moments of silence. "For Luke, most likely. Sidious says we're staying here and we're going to face him and whoever he brings with him."

Mara frowned. "Eius, you couldn't possibly kill your own father, could you?"

"I cut all the ties to my past a long time ago," he responded quickly and sharply. She didn't pursue the topic.

Very wise of her, Eius thought. My head hurts enough as it is. There's too much to think about, too much I don't know…

And there all things I need to figure out before my father arrives.