This chapter was EXHAUSTING to write.

There, I said it.

SOOOOO I was going to write MORE...

But then I decided "Hey, I'll end it in a cliffhanger!

Don't shoot me.

It's just a good spot to end the chapter.

You know you love me, even though you hate me hahahaha

Thank you for all your...Reviews...(Or should I say melt-downs?) from the previous chapter...

It had to be done.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review this chapter! I'M BEGGING YOU! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Enjoy!

There is no death, there is the Force.

"Request denied."

There is no death…

"NO!"

…there is the Force.

He only felt the pain for a few moments. After the pain, all he knew was peace. All of his aches and pains faded into oblivion, his injuries and exhaustion were non-existent, and everything was so much clearer. It was only dark for a few moments before the light gradually fell over him, and he felt the Force wrap around him, beckoning him deeper into its infinite folds.

Luke did so gratefully.

After a short time, he was no longer floating through the Force, but settling down gently into a stationary spot. He looked around, seeing nothing but this white world around him. It reminded him of the dreams and visions he would have of…

"Hello Luke."

Luke turned at the familiar voice, grinning at the figure that had materialized and was currently approaching him. "Qui-Gon!"

Qui-Gon smiled faintly at him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Luke was startled by the contact at first, having grown used to Qui-Gon not being able to touch him. Now that they were both dead, Luke could feel the weight of his hand on his shoulder and the warm, comforting effect that it produced.

"It's good to see you Luke, though I do wish it was under different circumstances," Qui-Gon said in a solemn tone. Luke nodded.

"Yes but…I accepted that it was the will of the Force…it needed to happen," Luke said quietly.

"Mhm, necessary it was, but unfortunate it still is," came a second familiar voice, followed by the tap of a gimmer stick. Luke spun around in shock.

"Master Yoda! What are you doing here?" Luke asked in shock.

"Passed, I did, before left your father did to rescue you," Yoda informed him gently, coming to a stop at Luke's left.

Luke nodded in acceptance; it was unfortunate that Yoda had passed. Who would lead the Jedi Council now?

Speaking of unfortunate…

"Master, what do you mean my death was necessary but unfortunate?" Luke asked curiously.

"Falling into the depths of the dark side, your father is," Yoda said gravely. "Consumed by his anger and grief, he has become."

Luke looked at Yoda in disbelief. "He can't! Luke still has a chance, Father can't fall again!"

Yoda sighed. "See for yourself, you should," he said, nodding in front of the three. The white melted away, bleeding into the colors of the world as the dim chamber of the ruins Luke had just been in appeared.

The first thing he noticed was the fight his father and Sidious were having, their blades locked in a deadly and intense battle. Luke looked fearfully upon his father's blazing golden eyes, fearing for his father's soul.

"He'll snap out of it…I know he will," Luke said in a quiet yet confident voice. Moments after he spoke, Anakin overpowered and killed Sidious, the gold fading from his eyes as if to prove his point. Luke smiled slightly, though the smile faded when he saw Anakin stumble over to his body, still lying on the steps. The tears in his father's eyes pulled at his heart, and Luke subconsciously stepped forward towards him even if Anakin could not see him. Without thinking, Luke reached forward to touch his father's shoulder and let him know that it was all right, that he was fine and things were better on this side, and that Qui-Gon and Yoda were with him.

His hand passed right through his father's shoulder as Anakin let out a small sob before getting to his feet and trying to contain the pain as he pushed forward to help the others. Luke stared at the spot his hand had passed through with a pained expression, reprimanding himself for momentarily forgetting that he was but a spirit in the world of the living; that he could do no more than he could in his dream of Anakin's fall.

"Luke! Luke stop! Luke!"

Luke's head snapped up at the sound, watching in horror as Anakin dragged a struggling him back away from Galen Marek, who was sprawled without a lightsaber on the floor. The rubble started to come down, the others cried out in warning, and the ground caved in underneath his father and the other Luke. The dust was too thick for the others to see, but being one with the Force Luke knew that they were all right; Anakin was winded, the breath knocked out of him, but otherwise all right.

The rubble that had fallen from above plugged up the hole, and it was just the beginning of the collapse.

Luke ignored the others, who struggled with the rubble before they were forced to retreat with Luke's body, the rest of the room caving in around them. Instead, he willed himself into the chamber that Anakin and Luke had fallen into, feeling the world around shift to his demands.

If he hadn't been so intent on their welfare, he would have thought the experience was rather thrilling.

Luke blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the room around him. Once they had, and his surroundings registered in his mind, his heart lodged in his throat and he felt full blown panic. He spun around to Qui-Gon and Yoda, who were watching the events unfold silently behind him.

"I have to help them! I don't know how, but I do!" Luke said, his voice strained. Yoda nodded in agreement.

"Help you, we will. Difficult, this will be; wait for the right moment you must, or else fail you shall."

Anakin tried to suck in a deep breath, struggling for air; his efforts weren't rewarded though, and he ended up sucking in an unhealthy amount of dust from the air around. He coughed violently, pushing himself onto his hands as he peered up towards the hole that they'd fallen through.

It was sealed by rubble, a few pebbles slipping away from the mass and onto Anakin's head.

Anakin groaned, bowing his head for a moment and waiting for everything to clear up again; nothing made sense and so many things were confusing at the moment; they'd fallen through a hole into an apparently forgotten corner of the ruins, so why was there light?

Before he could focus on finding the answer to that question, there was the familiar snap-hiss sound of a lightsaber being activated. He moved to scramble to his feet, but his attacker was faster, pinning him to the ground and holding the lightsaber mere centimeters from his throat. Anakin held very still, a mixed array of emotions flickering through him at the speed of light.

"Luke…put the lightsaber away," Anakin said softly, tipping his chin back to avoid the blood red blade. His son wouldn't kill him.

Right?

"That's not my name anymore," Luke said, and it sounded like it was coming through clenched teeth. "It's Eius; Darth Eius. It's not that hard of a concept to grasp."

"It's one that I don't believe," Anakin said shortly. "Luke, please, come home; come back to us, leave all this death and destruction behind because nothing good is going to come from it."

"I don't have a home, not anymore," Luke said sharply and harshly. He brought his blade closer to Anakin's throat, causing Anakin to flinch despite himself. Taking a deep breath, he tried a different angle.

"Where are we?" he asked calmly.

"Why don't you just stop talking?" Luke said in the same cold tone, pulling Anakin up roughly. Anakin had to weave backwards to avoid the blade his son was holding at his throat, but soon the threat of a quick death left his mind completely.

He finally saw the source of the light in the room he had thought was unused.

Cloning tanks lined the walls all around, casing an eerie, dark glow on the room all around. The dark side was strong and potent here, and Anakin felt a shiver of fear go down his back as he stared at the figure floating in the tank, duplicated over…and over…and over…

An unpleasant memory floated back to him, and only now did he remember the specifics of what Sidious had said back in the ruins on Korriban

'If I had not taken the precaution to have my own clones developed over time…'

Clones.

Plural.

Horrible realization settled over Anakin as he took in the many clones of Sidious that were stored in this very room, lining the walls all around him. Every single one of them was young, fit, and healthy.

He didn't like the thought at all.

A hiss sounded from off to his left, keeping Anakin from saying anything as he immediately put all of his senses on high alert. One of the tanks in front of him to the left was draining, releasing the clone inside. Anakin tensed, instinctively fighting the restraint that his son had him in before he stopped; partially because the lightsaber got closer to his throat and partially because he didn't want to hurt Luke.

The clone slid to the floor, unmoving for a few moments and causing Anakin to retain some hope that perhaps it was a faulty one. However, he wasn't that lucky, and the clone began to stir, making low coughing noises in its throat.

"Luke—" he tried, hoping to break some of the ice between him and his son before this younger Sidious could come into play.

"Quiet," Luke snapped, and Anakin felt a sharp emotional pain lance through him. Still, there wasn't much that he could do but watch helplessly as Sidious rose once more, pausing to retrieve a dark cloak and a lightsaber from a nearby chest. Anakin stiffened when Sidious turned to him, a cruel smile playing across the man's face as he took in the sight of Anakin restrained by his own son.

"Anakin…how nice of you to join us," he said with a bite in his voice. "I must thank you for freeing me from my old body Anakin, it was much too frail and weak, but this…this one is young and powerful."

"How are you still alive?" Anakin growled in frustration, subconsciously straining against Luke to attack Sidious and strangle the smirk off of his face.

"It's a simple procedure truthfully, for me; I just need to transfer my soul into one of these clones through the Force to continue to live. I could technically live forever if I wanted to," Sidious said smoothly, approaching Anakin. "See…I didn't really lie when I said I knew a way to cheat death."

Anakin's lips pursed. "I'll kill you as many times as I have to," he snarled, eyes flashing.

Sidious chuckled, and Anakin noted that the grip on his wrists tightened at his words. "I don't think your son would let you. You're playing a dangerous game Anakin; I would say that you're toeing the line, but the truth is, you've already slipped and started to fall. I'm surprised that doesn't worry you more. Perhaps you miss the dark side? The power, it calls to you, and having a taste for it once more re-awakens your lust for power to new heights."

"Your words are falling on deaf ears, Sidious," Anakin snarled, though he didn't like how he felt at that moment.

"I don't think they are. You are listening to what I have to say to some degree, no matter how much you deny it. There's still darkness in your soul Anakin, and you've been feeding it recently; letting it grow and fester…it's a larger part of you than you think. You can never tell how far you've fallen in until it's too late to escape. Besides, what right do you have to redemption? After everything you've done, what could possibly save your soul?"

"Lies," Anakin hissed. However, his vision was darkening, and the dark side was starting to make a move on him. Darkness encroached not only on his vision, but on his very soul. Still, he fought against its seductive pull.

"At night I'm sure you've lien in bed, unable to rest because you're haunted by the faces and dying gasps of all the ones that you've killed; and they only way to quiet them would be to accept the dark side; the dark side would get rid of their ghosts, but you remain too stubborn to accept it," Sidious said sharply. The darkness strengthened in potency, and Anakin found his knees going weak from the smothering weight that he felt from the dark side. "You've been on the dark side Anakin; you know how much more powerful it is than the Jedi; it offers so much more, opens up brand new possibilities. You've had a taste of it; it calls to you, beckons you home, invites you to bask in its power."

Anakin grit his teeth, his vision failing him as he was suddenly surrounded by darkness. "Get out of my head," he growled, though his voice was weaker, and he vaguely felt as if his knees were giving out. He couldn't be sure though, as he was starting to lose all sense of himself.

"You could always come back…re-join the dark side…you know you miss it. It's where you belong, where you were meant to be. All you've done is run from an inevitable fate, and I'm sure that you've grown tired of the running. Embrace your true self; quit shunning your true potential, stop lying to yourself. The dark side is a part of you; you are Darth Vader."

Anakin shook his head avidly, though the movement only served to make him dizzy on top of everything else. It was so dark, and cold...it didn't help that the dark side was trying to curl its wicked fingers over his heart, causing him to shudder. "No," he said vehemently. "I am Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master, a guardian of the galaxy."

"You are nothing," Sidious responded venomously. "Absolutely nothing without the dark side. You do not belong with the light; how could the murderer of women and children be a guardian of peace?" Sidious scoffed.

"No…" Anakin whispered, the darkness tightening its hold on him as the memories rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind in painful clarity. His blade cutting through little faces who stared up at him in hope, believing he would protect him, the look of utmost betrayal on the face of all those who recognized him before he abruptly ended their lives.

"You even turned on your loved ones; you are no longer deserving of them, though it begs the question if you ever were in the first place," Sidious purred. Anakin felt his insides wither as he remembered strangling Padme, the tears glistening in the eyes that begged to know why, why was he hurting her like this, why was he throwing everything away, what had she done wrong, why couldn't he listen to her?

"Stop it!" Anakin rasped.

"You always have been and always will be mine to control Anakin; you are nothing without me, and you are no Jedi. There is nothing to you but the dark side; that is the only true part of you. Listen to the voices of the dark side Anakin…shake off these chains you have put on yourself and embrace your true nature; you've already begun to embrace the ways of the dark side again today."

Everywhere he looked was either empty darkness or the faces of those he'd ever tortured, harmed, or killed. It was cold, and the dark side was pulling strongly at him, offering a reprieve, an escape from all of this suffering. That's all he wanted was an escape. When he was Vader he'd hoped from an escape from his never-ending misery, and for twenty-one long years he found none.

Until the day there had arrived the small light in his life…the light that had become a supernova, blazing bright to lead him out of the darkness.

Where was his light now? He needed his light, he craved his light to lead him out of this cold pit of sorrow.

"My light…" he muttered out loud. He wanted to tip his head up, but he couldn't see out of the darkness to do so. "My light…where is he…Luke!" he called out desperately, hoping to see some sign of his son in this darkness, to latch onto him and let him bring Anakin out of this pit of suffering.

Sidious barked with mad laughter above him, rousing Anakin's anger. "I killed him Anakin; he's not coming back, ever."

Determination surged through him as Anakin latched onto the thought of his son to power through the darkness, blinking the view of the dark side from his eyes so that he could turn his head up and glare at Sidious. Vaguely, he noted that there was no blade at his neck, and that he was on his hands and knees on the floor.

"I meant my son," Anakin said fiercely, and he suddenly felt a wave of surprise and some other indiscernible emotion from his son, who was standing just behind him, one hand grasping Anakin's shoulder.

Sidious studied him for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh. "Such a waste of potential…"

Suddenly his hand lashed out, grasping Anakin's chin tightly and forcing Anakin to keep his eyes on him. "I'll be sure to make your death a painful one; and after you, I'll have plenty of fun finishing off the rest of your disease of a family."

He was running out of time.

Trying to focus to communicate with the living was much harder than Luke thought it would be; he had to give Obi-Wan some credit now for the few times he had been able to communicate with him. Yoda and Qui-Gon were lending him their added strength so that he would be able to hold a communication, and he was extremely grateful to them for it.

Focus, he reprimanded himself yet again, eyes squeezed shut. In front of him, the situation continued to spiral out of control, his father no longer racing to the dark side thankfully but now rushing towards death. Luke grit his teeth in determination, reaching out to brush against the mind of his other self. It was his fifth try since Sidious had slid out of the cloning tank, and hopefully it would be a successful try this time.

"Luke," he whispered to the other Luke's mind, hoping that he would hear him.

The other Luke stiffened, his eyes flickering to the corners of the room before he settled his attention uneasily back to the scene in front of him. Luke couldn't help but smile just slightly; he was through.

"Luke, listen to me…you have to do something," Luke pressed, his eyes trained on the other Luke for reactions.

I'm just hearing things; the other Luke is dead, gone forever. He won't appear ever again, came the other Luke's thought.

"Yes, I'm dead, but I'm not gone; not so long as you and Anakin need my help which you both do," Luke replied easily.

I don't believe it.

"I didn't either at first when Obi-Wan spoke to me from beyond the grave; but it's true and you can't deny that I'm here speaking to you."

Get out of my head!

"Not so great of an experience, is it?" Luke responded coolly. "Just be grateful I'm not attacking you like Sidious did with me or Anakin."

Go away.

"No, you need to wake up Luke, and stop lying to yourself. You've been deceived, played, taken advantage of; and you're too blind to fight back! What do you think Sidious is going to do with you when this is all over? He's usuing you as a tool to get to Anakin, that's all you've been since this started!"

Shut up! I won't listen to what you have to say!

"Well you should, because Sidious is about to kill him! You fell to the dark side to protect him, and now you're just going to stand by and watch while Sidious tortures him to death? And Sidious won't stop there, he'll go after the entire Skywalker family!"

You don't know what you're talking about.

"Do I? Or are you just too stubborn to listen to reason anymore? Luke, listen; I know that Sidious separated the two of us, but it was at your consent. We could merge if you would just let me in now that I'm one with the Force."

Ha! This is all just a ploy so that you can take control of me and my life! I know better than to listen to you, you can't hide your lies from me!

"I'm not trying to take control of anything; only with our combined abilities that will result from a merge will we be able to stop Sidious; so long as Sidious has you on his side, Anakin's powerless because he refuses to do anything that could possibly hurt you or put him in a position that would cause him to fight you. Please Luke, come back to the light."

There's nothing for me in the light anymore.

Suddenly their attention was drawn to Sidious' words. "I'll be sure to make your death a painful one; and after you, I'll have plenty of fun finishing off the rest of your disease of a family."

The surprise and shock coming from the other Luke was rather priceless, and Luke was starting to sense traces of panic from the young man. He was breaking through, and that light was growing in the other Luke.

"See, I was right! Luke, you have to listen to me, he needs us, both of us, and the only way that we're going to be able to help him is if we merge! I promise you I am not trying to take over your life; I never was. We are both the same person and having two of us is messing with everything, even the very fabric of the Force; there's a tear around us where instead of there being one there's two. Please, we can't let Sidious kill Anakin, for Force's sake, he's your father and you are his son! He came all this way not just for me but for you too! He's been tracking you all over the galaxy trying to find you; you can't just let him die!"

I…

A cry of pain shattered their concentration and they both snapped to attention to see Sidious with his lightsaber ignited standing over Anakin, who now had a lightsaber wound running the length of his back.

Something stirred in the other Luke even as he hesitated to answer, but Luke already sensed his opening, and he wasn't about to waste his chance; he flung himself forward eagerly towards the other Luke and prayed that this actually worked.

Anakin was gritting his teeth in pain; he hadn't been expecting the lightsaber cut when it came, and he wasn't armed to defend himself; his lightsaber and Luke's lightsaber was lying on the ground behind him, back where he had fallen, behind where his son was currently standing. He shoved the pain to a corner of his mind, pushing himself to his feet with a determined light in his eyes; if he really was going to go down, then he would go down swinging.

A gasp of surprise and even pain behind the two drew their attention away from each other somehow, and they both turned to look at Luke, doubled over in apparent pain. The Force all around them was in sudden unrest, rushing towards him eagerly before a frightening display of dark and light struggling for dominance started to wage inside of the young man. Threads of the Force weaved around him, as if to repair some unseen damage.

He's…he's merging, Anakin realized with a start. His heart soared in joy and hope, but he didn't let himself become distracted. Sidious had realized the same thing, and he wasn't going to sit back and watch his prize be pried free of his dark clutches.

With a demented cry, Sidious shoved forward a mental attack that would allow him a spot in Luke's struggle, giving him more power over his apprentice and procuring more strength for the dark side's assault. Luke jerked when the forced entry into his conflicted mind was successful, and Anakin felt fury well up inside of him.

Two could play at this game.

With a deep breath, Anakin latched onto the light side of the Force and also invaded Luke's mind, which wasn't that hard in his current state. He wasn't as merciless though, and kept the invasion as painless as possible.

For a moment, he thought he would lose himself in the confusing storm of light and dark that was currently roiling in the boy; the dark of Darth Eius, and the light of Luke Skywalker.

Sidious had already gotten underway attacking the Luke Skywalker part. Still being tossed around and trying to gain some stability in his son's tumultuous mind, Anakin could only listen for the time being.

"You. Are. Nothing," came Sidious' voice, hissing through the storm and directed entirely towards Luke.

Where am I, was the boy's thought. This tumultuous merge had the poor young man as off set as Anakin was at the moment.

"Alone," Sidious said sharply. Anakin could feel Luke's sudden spike of fear as if it were his own.

No—help me—

"There is no one. There is only the Dark Side," Sidious said forcefully.

I...am...a Jedi, Luke responded, a firm grit in his voice. A sudden lance of pain rent through his mind, curtsey of Sidious, and caused him to cry out in pain.

"You are not a Jedi. You are nothing; you have no name."

My name—is—Skywalker! Luke replied desperately, clinging onto the identity. Anakin struggled to get his bearings, tossed to and fro in the sea of light and dark. He needed to get some stability, he had to help his son; why had he not practiced this skill more?

A much louder, much more agonized cry of pain from Luke rent Anakin's focus to shreds.

"YOU. HAVE. NO. NAME!" Sidious practically screamed at Luke.

I—

"Listen to the Dark Side. You have no name," Sidious said softer, his voice low.

I have...no name, Luke said dejectedly. Anakin felt a surge of determination, closing his eyes and letting the Force guide him to where he needed to be and what he needed to do. He couldn't lose his son, not now; he couldn't let Sidious snatch him away, especially like this.

"You serve the Dark Side."

I... s-serve...

"Luke."

…Father?

Relief surged through Anakin as he finally successfully made contact with his son, and he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at the sudden spike in anger and frustration he sensed from Sidious at his intrusion.

"It's me Luke, I'm here; you're not alone," Anakin said firmly.

I deserve to be…after everything I've done… Luke whispered, the Eius side having gained so much strength already it was already starting to dominate the influence on his son's thoughts. It was almost like Luke was slipping further away with every passing moment.

Anakin wasn't going to let that happen.

"No, that's not true," Anakin whispered softly. "Luke, I know who you are, and I couldn't be prouder of the man that you've grown into. You're my son, and I've loved you ever since you entered this galaxy; I'd give anything and everything for you. I know you haven't made the best choices recently, but that's all right; everyone makes mistakes, everyone goes through a rough patch, and I forgive you. I'm willing to put what you've done behind us if you will too."

How could anyone forget what I've done, Luke said in quiet horror. I've killed so many in cold blood without a hint of remorse or mercy, and I've killed so many more than the Council knows about; I can't even count how many have died by my hand in this short period of time! I'm not deserving of any forgiveness.

"That's the dark side talking," Anakin said firmly. "I would know; you forget son, I was a Sith Lord myself for many, many years. I believe my body count far outnumbers yours. Take it from me; there is redemption offered to you if you will take it; I know because I've been where you're at now. You have a loving family waiting for you to come home…I want you to come home…please…"

"What a touching bought of lies, Skywalker," came Sidious' snide voice, cutting into their heart to heart. "The boy is right though; he's far too deep for any redemption by now. Not even you are deserving of this so called 'redemption' you've tricked yourself into believing you've received. Besides, it's his choice; and he knows he can't leave."

"He can leave if he wants to," Anakin replied sharply, though he was distracted as he felt another wave from the dark side rattle Luke, sending him back a little farther. "Luke, don't give in, please, come back, I know you're strong enough to resist him."

"I've had enough of your meddling," Sidious hissed at him. Anakin felt a strong warning rush through the Force, and he pulled out of Luke's mind just in time to roll out of the way of a descending blade. Sidious had also withdrawn from Luke's mind, deciding it was best to deal with Anakin first if he was going to retain his apprentice.

Anakin scrambled to his feet, immersing himself deeply into the Force. All he could do now was fight to survive and hope that Luke won this inner battle.

Stand firm, son, he thought pleadingly before he began a deadly game of hand-to-lightsaber combat with Sidious.

Never had he been so confused in his life.

He wished he could name himself, but right now Eius and Luke were going around and around in circles in his head, both fighting for dominance. Right now he wasn't sure which one was winning.

No! I am myself! I'm not sharing myself with anyone! Eius thought desperately.

We are both the same people, you know it's true, Luke snapped back.

My Master is Sidious; I serve the dark side. It's too late for me to go back on that choice.

No, it's not. You have a chance at redemption if you would just accept it and stop fighting.

You don't know how strong the dark side is!

Yes I do. And I know that the light is much stronger; it takes immeasurable amounts of the dark to snuff out light, but only the littlest of light to ward of the dark.

Who do you think you are? You have no right here! I am—

You are Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker, Jedi, guardian of the Republic, a loving brother and a light to all who know him. If you don't believe me, why don't you just look?

I don't want to.

You don't have a choice in the matter.

Before any protest could be made, memories suddenly began to flood forth; he saw both lives play out in front of him at the same rate like they were on a split screen. On one played his life growing up under Anakin's care, on the other he watched himself grow up as a youth on Tatooine. The sharp contrast to how his life had been stood out. Under Anakin, his family had been whole and happy; things had been right. On Tatooine, everyone was missing from his life. His hardships started at nineteen in Tatooine, and he went through too much at too young of an age, forced to grow up much faster than normal and under harsher circumstances. Under Anakin he grew steadily and at his own rate, experiencing none of the pain he had encountered in his other life.

Then came his choice on Korriban.

He had made the choice to protect his father; he had sold his soul for Anakin's life, just as Anakin had tried to do not too much earlier, and just as Anakin had done originally before his interference. Now he could see the reactions of those around him; now he could see Sidious' treachery, and how he had played right into Sidious' hands, letting the monster shape him into a weapon to be used against his father to hurt Anakin in the worst way possible. Now he knew how desperately Anakin had searched for him, and now he understood the horror of how mistaken he had been. How many had he killed for such an empty, petty reason that had no real merit? How had Sidious managed to warp him so far from the light? How had he seen any logic in what he was doing?

As all of his memories flooded back to him, he clung to the light inside of him, willing it to grow back. He wanted the redemption his father had told him was still available to him; he wanted to make things right. He wanted to shed the lies Sidious had wrapped him in.

He'd seen from his father that what he had done would never truly go away though; the dark side would never truly go away now.

But he could fight it.

With the memories also came the soul-crushing reality of everything he had done. His soul cried out in agony over all the blood on his hands, and all the tortures, betrayals, and evil he had carried out.

But he could fight on.

The dark side still clung to its apprentice, even as the same apprentice shrugged himself free from its veil of suffering as much as was currently possible. He had only taken the first step, and he still didn't know if he would get much farther, but there was a more important matter at hand.

His father needed him.

If he had fallen to the dark side for his father, then he could return to the light for his father.

The Force sang in relief as he finally accepted both parts of himself, and the fabric of the Force was healed as the two finally, at long last, became one.

With tears of pain, anger, and relief, Luke Skywalker opened his eyes once more to the world around him.