If this chapter doesn't make that much sense near the end...I blame how late it was when I finished this chapter. If I don't like it I'll go back and refine the end when I'm more awake.

Still, I'm pretty happy with this chapter at the same time.

Please Please Review! Thank you for all the reviews with the last chapter!

Enjoy!

Anakin stumbled over to his son, moved to immediate action when the youth collapsed in front of his eyes. At first, he had thought that Luke was passing out from exhaustion or some other, much more devastating ailment; but that was far from the truth.

Luke had fallen to his hands and knees, lightsaber clattering to the floor beside him, his head bowed low. As Anakin approached, he could see tremors shuddering through Luke's body, and when he got close enough he could hear the broken sobs emanating from the young man.

Anakin tried to speak, but found himself too choked up to speak. His vision was starting to blur from tears as he slowly kneeled beside Luke, and he reached out to gently touch his son's back.

To his surprise the black cloth was wet to the touch and as he pulled his hand away, he realized that his fingers were stained red with blood. His eyes riveted to his son as he reached over and gently grasped his shoulders.

"Luke…" he finally managed to say, his voice breaking. Jerkily, Luke turned and buried himself into Anakin's chest, his blonde head a blur to Anakin's already tear-filled vision.

"Father!" Luke choked out between his wracking sobs. "I'm so…sorry…"

"Shh…" Anakin said softly, cradling Luke's head close to his chest and letting the young man cry as much as he needed to. "There's nothing to apologize for…it's all right…" he whispered.

As he spoke, he let his hand carefully pull back the collar of Luke's shirt, allowing him to look at the young man's back. It was hard to see all of it, but Anakin could easily make out the distinct shapes of a lot of deep, fresh whipping scars running the length of Luke's back and criss-crossing over one another. His vision was tinged red as a wave of fury rushed through him, but just as quickly as it came it dissipated. Sidious was already dead; who was there left to be angry with?

Himself?

He already knew where that led.

Besides, how could he possibly stay angry when his son was sobbing in his father's embrace? He was too heartbroken to be angry right now.

Luke fisted a chunk of Anakin's tunic, burying his face deeper into Anakin's chest with a strangled sob. "There's…everything to apologize for," Luke managed to gasp out, his voice made up of pain, suffering, and overwhelming guilt. Anakin understood perfectly where his son was right now, which gave him an advantage in giving the young man hope.

"Don't think of that," Anakin said pleadingly to his son, stroking the blonde head tenderly as he cradled Luke close to him as if he was still a four year old boy frightened of a snake on Naboo. His heart ached with joy at holding his son once more; his son was safe, in his arms, with him once more, and Anakin never wanted to let him go ever again. "Everything is all right now…the only thing that could change that is dwelling on the mistakes."

Luke shook his head, sputtering for breath for a moment before he regained enough control to speak once more. "Th-they're not just some accident that I can l-leave behind; Father, I slaughtered them! H-he's right; he wasn't ly-lying."

Anakin gently but firmly pried Luke away from his body, tilting the young man's face up so that the identical blue eyes would meet. "Don't say that; don't ever listen to what Sidious says. Whether it's true or not, every word he says is designed to tear you apart," Anakin said sternly. His heart ached at the tears that leaked out of Luke's eyes, and he gently thumbed the water droplets away while Luke continued to tremble.

Luke grit his teeth in pain, looking away in shame. "But he was right; the Order won't take me back after…after…"

Seeing how hard it was for Luke to finish his sentence, Anakin shook his head. "You don't know that—"

"I know what I did; and I know not even I can forgive myself for it."

"Well I can," Anakin said firmly, tilting Luke's chin so that the boy would look at him again. "You were willing to forgive me after everything I did, and not just to you…I'm willing to, and I do Luke. I forgive you, and I won't be the only one."

A few more tears leaked out of Luke's eyes. "How many?" When Anakin's brow furrowed in confusion, Luke explained just slightly. "How many did I…"

"I thought you knew?" Anakin asked, frowning. He didn't like Luke torturing himself over this, though he knew it couldn't be help.

"I want to see how many the Council thinks I've…killed," Luke said quietly, his voice breaking on the last word.

A sharp pang went through his heart. He didn't really want to give the number, even if it was miniscule—next to nonexistent—compared to his own kill count as Vader. "Thirty-six," Anakin finally said.

Luke was shaking his head before Anakin even finished the first digit, but still asked the next question.

"How many Jedi?" he asked in a broken voice staring at his lightsaber by his side.

"Luke…"

"How many?"

Anakin appraised him reluctantly for a moment. "Twenty-eight. Four civilians, four politicians."

"Wrong," Luke whispered quietly. "There was so much more…"

"No more," Anakin finally said. Luke looked up at him, startled. "No more of this; you are a good person Luke. You're one of the purest, strongest people I know."

Luke looked away in shame, and it wasn't hard for Anakin to figure out that Luke was thinking neither of those things applied to him anymore. Anakin pressed on, gently placing his hands on either side of Luke's face.

"You're my son, and nothing is going to change the fact I would tear the entire galaxy apart for you; frankly, I was in the process of doing just that when we finally found you," Anakin said with a slight smile, getting a ghost of a small, miniscule smile out of Luke as well. With a sigh, Anakin pulled Luke close to him—mindful of Luke's back injuries—into a tight hug. "I love you Luke," he said softly to the young man.

Luke curled into the comforting embrace his father held him in, and Anakin could feel the tears continue to fall down the youth's face. "I love you too Father…" he croaked through his tears.

The sound of cracking rock sounded behind them, and both Skywalkers jerked at the sound, having forgotten where they were during their moment of reunion. Luke grimaced.

"This…this place is falling apart around us," Luke forced out, his old commanding air returning to him just slightly for a moment.

"Do you know a way out?" Anakin asked him. Luke's grimace grew.

"No…I didn't know that this was where S…Sidious kept his clones. I've never been in here."

"Well…we need to find some way out of this place," Anakin murmured. "Can you stand?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Can you?"

A chunk of stone fell from the ceiling a few paces away from them, causing both of them to stir. Both of them flinched from their injuries, earning identical worried glances towards each other. Anakin sighed, painfully standing up and pulling Luke up with him. Luke supported a good chunk of his weight himself, which was a relief to Anakin considering his injuries were protesting from his own weight. When they were both standing, they leaned into each other, examining the room before them for any escape.

Luke was the one who spotted their way out, summoning his lightsaber back into his grasp. Instinctively, he moved to clip the weapon onto his left hip, but was puzzled when he found there was already a blade at his side. Remembrance dawned on him, and he carefully clipped the green bladed lightsaber to his right hip instead.

"Come on," he said, gesturing in the direction of the dark hole that indicated a tunnel. "That's our way out of here."

Anakin nodded. "Put your arm over my shoulder," he commanded his son, snaking his own arm under Luke's armpit to support him. Luke mostly obliged, though he ended up mirroring Anakin's own action so they could support each other. Anakin could feel the pain coming off of his son now that Luke's adrenaline rush was over, but he was still strong enough to support his father. Together, the two pushed forward, making a painfully slow journey out of the room.

Thankfully it was fast enough to stay a few steps ahead from the collapse of the ruins.

Anakin bit back a groan of pain as they made their gradual progress down the hall, face scrunched up. He couldn't see a thing in this darkness; did they even know if they were headed up?

"Do you know…what happened to the others?" Luke grunted. Anakin had let his son take the lead as best as they could with their mutual support since he had navigated these ruins for who knew how long by now.

Anakin shook his head. "No…I don't. I do know that they're all right."

Luke nodded. "Good," he said quietly. There was a few moments of silence before he spoke again. "And Galen? He's all right?"

Anakin glanced Luke's way, his eyes straining to see the young man in the darkness. "Yes…as far as I'm aware he's all right too."

Silence settled between the two as they continued on, the sound of the crumbling ruins around the only thing that broke the silence. Luke's breathing was slightly uneaven, though it was Anakin's that was labored; each step hurt, sending pain through his back. His son, however, had the whipping injuries and seemed to be favoring his leg as well. Anakin was also suspicious that loss of blood was a factor in his son's weakened state. Anakin sported the most physical injuries, but it was Luke who had been through the most.

Anakin's thought process was abruptly ended as he stumbled suddenly. It seemed Luke's legs had given out underneath him, causing the two to tumble to the floor. Luke let out a cry of pain when Anakin fell on top of him, though he cut it off halfway through, trying to bite back the pain. Anakin pushed himself off of his son with some effort, rolling onto his side and gritting his teeth.

"I hope we don't have to keep this up much longer," Anakin mumbled.

"I don't know where we are," Luke muttered. Anakin heard shuffling from where Luke was still on the floor before there was the sound of a lightsaber being ignited and the room was suddenly bathed in a red glow.

Both Skywalkers stilled at the sight of Luke's Sith lightsaber, and Luke even looked a little pale, the painful guilt washing over the youth once more. His condition only worsened when he registered where they were, and Anakin was surprised when—even in the red light—he could tell that Luke was turning green.

"Are you all right," Anakin asked him, his voice deep with concern.

"I'll…I'll be fine," Luke muttered, running his hand down the door beside them. His gaze met Anakin's, those blue eyes haunted by who knew what. "I know where we are."

Anakin perked up. "Good; then we can get out of here before the rest of this place crumbles." He looked around as he spoke, taking in the damp, dark hall around them. Something on the floor caught his attention, and Anakin reached out to snatch up the small holodisc. "What's this?"

Luke glanced at his father's hand and stilled before his hand suddenly snatched at the holodisc desperately. Anakin managed to jerk it out of his son's reach, his eyebrows raised at the desperate look on Luke's face.

"I-I must have dropped it," he said hastily, his gaze locked on the holodisc. "When I tripped."

"What is it?" Anakin asked patiently, watching Luke's every move.

"Just…destroy it. Crush it, burn it, cut it into a thousand little pieces with your lightsaber, I don't care; just get rid of it, please," Luke plead with him. Anakin was shocked.

"Why?"

Luke took a shuddering breath, looking away and focusing on lifting himself with help from the wall. He stared at the door as he spoke in quiet, trembling tones.

"Sidious…gave it to me. In case you found me at some point and…" he trailed off, staring transfixed at something Anakin couldn't see. Finally, he nodded towards the door. "It has everything that…that I went through in there, in this very room," he said softly, his voice cracking several times.

Anakin felt guilt wash through him for bringing the subject up, and he also got to his feet with help from the wall, storing the holodisc in one of the pouches on his utility belt. As much as it was probably going to hurt him, Anakin wanted to know as much of what Luke had gone through as he could; but that could wait until later. Anakin reached out, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder and snapping his child out of his trance. When Luke's blue eyes met his, Anakin gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"I'm sorry," Anakin said softly. More cracking echoed down the hall where they had just come from, and Anakin turned his head. "We have to keep moving."

"I know the way from here," Luke said with a firm nod. "But there's stairs."

Anakin grimaced as they returned to their support system. "Lovely."

Luke led the way through the dark halls through pure memory, and Anakin tried not to think of how he knew this route so well. The stairs were, predictably, hard to go up, but they managed. Gradually, the air was clearing up, but the rumbling of the ruins falling apart was growing louder. They were running out of time.

"I don't think we're going to make it," Luke grunted as they made their way down a corridor that was lit by Luke's red lightsaber.

"You're starting to sound as optimistic as Master Windu," Anakin griped. "We'll make it; we just have to keep moving."

A slab fell from the ceiling behind them, causing the two to jump and Anakin to lean against the wall for a moment to regain his bearings. He glanced at Luke.

"Perhaps we should move a little faster?" he suggested.

"Agreed," Luke grunted, already moving forward.

"A little further Han, I can sense them!"

Han pushed the Falcon a little faster, his eyes scanning the ground of Byss below him for wherever it was that Leia was leading them. Chewy sat in his designated co-pilot's seat with Leia standing between Chewy and Han; Galen was watching Mara in the brig, keeping an eye on the woman just in case. He had said that one could never be too careful when it came to Emperor's Hands.

"We're running out of time Han, can't this thing go any faster?" Leia begged.

"I'm trying Princess, I'm trying, I promise," Han said, his voice strained.

Suddenly she stiffened. "There! They're somewhere down there! Get lower!" she commanded, pointing a finger towards a clearing near an outcropping of the corner of some ancient building poking out of the ground.

"Are you sure?" Han asked even as he angled the Falcon in the direction of the ancient building.

"Absolutely; they're down there, I can sense it. And they need help too. I'm going out there."

Han spared her a glance. "That entire structure is going down; are you sure—"

"They'll make it," Leia said stubbornly. She turned in the direction of the ramp. "I'll be right back, I promise."

"Come on, just a little further!" Luke said desperately, his eyes trained ahead as he all but carried his father towards the exit. Anakin's strength was quickly fading, as was Luke's; they stumbled along almost blindly, Luke's memory of the place the only thing to guide them since the Force simply reminded them of how short there time was. Rock, stone, and dust fell all around them, and the ground was growing unsteady around them.

"I agree with you earlier…I don't think we're going to make it…" Anakin muttered. He was hunched over in Luke's grasp, stumbling like a drunken man. Luke grit his teeth.

"Just…a few more meters…a turn or two…we'll make it."

"Where are we even headed?" Anakin mumbled.

"A window; we used a window to get in and out of the ruins," Luke grunted, dragging Anakin along. Every other thought was pushed far out of his mind at the moment; the only thing he could think of was getting his father out of this place alive. His leg screamed in pain where Galen had cut him earlier, and his back was spazzing in agony, but he kept moving. They couldn't afford to stop moving; if they did then they'd surely be dead.

"Luke…" Anakin said softly from beside him. He sounded resigned to the ever-looming fate of getting buried in these ruins.

"Just a little farther…" Luke said through grit teeth.

Anakin shook his head. "Luke, I want you to know that whatever happens…it was worth it to me," Anakin said softly.

Luke was silent for several moments. "Thank you Father…"

Suddenly, they were joined by a new voice.

"Father!"

Luke stumbled in his pace. "Leia?" he whispered. Anakin's grasp on Luke shoulder tightened and he tilted his head up in surprise.

The call came again.

"Father!"

"Leia!" Anakin called back, standing a little straighter. "How much farther?" he asked Luke.

"Not much," Luke stuttered, pushing himself to move faster. He rounded the last corner, his eyes zeroing in on the bright light of day that streamed through the window in front of them.

Of course, this was where the ground slanted upwards; it was going to be difficult for them to get up there alone.

"Father!" Leia's voice came again, though this time it was followed by a high pitched, "Luke!" that was filled with so many different emotions. She was just outside of the ruins, standing by the window in fact. As she caught sight of them, she started to move with Jedi speed to slide into the ruins through the window.

"Leia! What are you doing here, where are the others?" Anakin called as she made her way down the hall towards them. Anakin and Luke were resting against the shaking wall, too exhausted to make the climb.

"They're safe, they're on the Falcon, come on," she said as she reached the two. She draped one of each of their arms around her shoulders, grasping under their arms and grunting under their combined weight. They could feel her relying heavily on the Force to perform the task, so they did as much as they could to take some of the weight off of her. They limped along, pressed to keep from getting crushed by the crumbling structure all around them. The three Skywalkers kept their gaze fixed firmly on the small window in front of them as it drew steadily closer, so close yet so far away.

Once they reached it, they realized they had to go through one at a time. Anakin and Luke clasped onto the edge of the window sill while Leia pulled herself through. Once she was firmly outside, she grabbed hold of Anakin and lifted him through the hole to safety, followed by Luke. They pulled themselves to the grass a few meters away from the structure, watching as it crumbled a few moments later. All three lay prone for a few moments, gathering their strength.

As soon as those few moments were up, Luke found himself smothered by his sister, who had him in a hold so tight he couldn't breathe.

"Luke!" she sobbed into his shoulder. "Luke, are you all right?"

"I'm fine Leia, I'm fine," Luke assured her softly with what little breath was in his lungs. "But…I can't breathe."

She pulled away, tears in her eyes. "You're back? All of you?"

Luke nodded slightly. "All of me."

She made a strange noise in the back of her throat, pulling him up into another hug and burying her face in his neck. "I missed you," she whispered.

Luke felt himself getting choked up once again and he nodded against her shoulder. "I know Leia, I did too…but I'm back now," he said softly.

She pulled away, turning to their father. "Father…are you okay?" she asked him, her hand fluttering over the man's multiple injuries.

"I'll be all right," he said tiredly.

Luke watched his sister fret over their father's many injuries, pangs going through his heart. Still, the ache was nothing compared to the joy that was seeping through his bones.

Everything was going to be all right now.

Maybe.