Anakin sat down beside Luke, who had taken the seat behind the pilot, Vader. Vader had a crew for the ship, he had told Anakin, but that he had dismissed them to a Star Destroyer so that he could speak to Luke privately on their way home. Anakin had heard the anger in his voice, and sensed betrayal. He felt a smirk playing at the edges of his mouth. Luke smiled at him reassuringly, and he assumed that the boy had thought the expression struggling to break loose was one of horror.
Vader gave a responding furious prickle, and Anakin grinned back at the young Jedi, amused at Vader's annoyance.
"Father?" Luke asked.
"Yeah?" Anakin asked.
"Yes?" Vader asked, making an obvious attempt to drown out Anakin's voice, but failing.
Luke looked slightly ashamed, "I mean him," he said, indicating Vader.
Anakin shrugged, but he felt Vader's sense of accomplishment. He felt a little bit sorry for the man, considering he could place such happiness in a few words from Luke.
"Anakin would tell you," Luke said haltingly, "That I'm not very good at fighting when I have allies on my side who are wielding lightsabers."
"No kidding," Anakin joked, poking Luke in the ribs with his deactivated lightsaber. He had meant it as nothing more intense than making light of their difficult situation, but Vader had immediately given a protective spike of emotion. Had he read it as Anakin actually trying to hurt Luke? He couldn't have, but he must have.
"What are you trying to convey?" Vader asked Luke.
"I was just wondering if there's a secret to it," Luke said innocently, "Any way that I won't get in your way."
"I'm afraid I'm not aware of a secret," Vader said.
Anakin frowned at the back of his helmet, "Yeah, there is."
Vader prickled angrily again.
"Oh, good," Luke said, sounding relieved, "What is it?"
"Which one of us do you know better?" Anakin asked, watching as Luke's gaze shifted uneasily between them.
"I don't know," the young man answered at last, "I'm kind of used to teaching myself to fight the reverse of how Vader does, and you were going easy on me when we were training."
"What is Vader's style?" Anakin asked. When Vader had attacked him, demanding to know where Luke was, he hadn't been able to judge which form he was using. He had assumed that it was simply his worry about Luke that had made him seem so haphazard.
Luke shrugged, "I don't really know the forms," he admitted, "I read up on them when I was staying at the Temple, but I never really understood how to tell them apart."
"I was forced to create my own, when Obi-Wan's attack left me crippled," Vader snarled.
"Obi-Wan?" Luke asked, "Obi-Wan did this to you?" And Anakin thought that he could sense a sliver of indignation in Luke's voice. Vader seemed to have sensed it too, because Anakin could have sworn the man's heart had lightened hundredfold.
"Yes," Vader answered, "He nearly killed me."
Luke bit his lip, and both Anakin and Vader smiled at the concern in his face, "I – I'm sorry."
For the first time, Vader's helmet rotated to look at his son. Anakin was keeping close watch on his counterpart's feelings, and he felt something strange deep in his heart at the gratitude in Vader's voice as he looked into Luke's eyes and said, "Thank you."
Suddenly, Anakin understood Vader's choice to consider their conversation with Luke as a contest. It was easy to want that admiration and caring for oneself alone. Anakin pushed his own longing for it away, reminding himself that he would soon return to his own galaxy, without Luke, and that he shouldn't get in the way of Vader bonding with him. After all, he could sense every moment spent with Luke speeding the healing of Vader's soul, emotional scars fading, and he imagined that he could sense the other's consciousness lightening.
"Father?" Luke asked again.
This time, Anakin didn't bother to answer, knowing that Luke was addressing Vader, who merely nodded.
"Would you consider coming back to the Alliance with me when we've finished?"
Anakin felt Vader's hesitance to refuse the offer, and felt himself growing hopeful for Luke. He knew that there could be no happier ending for Luke than if father and children were reunited before Anakin and Obi-Wan returned home.
"No, Luke," Vader said gently.
"Why not?" Luke demanded, "Why won't you come home? You don't honestly enjoy being a monster, do you?"
"Of course not, Luke, do not be foolish. It is merely that I would not be permitted to stay with you. They would not trust me. They have no reason to."
Luke sighed disappointedly, "You're sure?"
"Quite sure," Vader said, and Anakin watched in silent amazement as one black glove found Luke's hand and squeezed it tightly, "I'm sorry."
Luke smiled back at him, "I know. It's only that I can't keep myself from wishing."
Vader nodded.
Anakin looked back and forth between them. He couldn't see that Vader was especially lost in the Dark Side, considering how easily he offered Luke kindness. Maybe, just maybe, Vader could be turned back to the Jedi, to live his life with his son, and take the guilt and remorse as his punishment.
Luke turned back to Anakin, "That secret you were talking about earlier. What was it?"
"Only to stand back to back with the person who's fighting style you know best, and who you trust the most. If you truly know them, you'll know where their lightsaber will be before it gets there. It's more helpful for fighting enemies en masse, though."
"Oh," Luke said, and his gaze started drifting between the others again, "I'm not sure I know either one of you well enough for that."
Anakin shrugged, "He wants you. For us, this is a matter of simple protection. If he gets close enough to harm you, we'll already be behind him. You're very good at fighting by yourself. We'll try to stay out of your way."
Luke smiled, reassured, "Alright."
For several minutes, they sat in silence. Anakin found himself gazing at Vader's helmet again, wondering what went on behind it. He could easily sense pain, unhappiness, even the beginnings of guilt. For what was Vader sorry? Was it his treatment of Luke, the way he worked throughout the galaxy? He didn't think so. He had sensed the prickles of jealousy had been for more than one reason. Vader missed Padme. If Anakin was right, he missed her a great deal, and was very jealous of the fact that Anakin still had his wife.
"Thank you," Luke said suddenly, pulling Anakin away from his thoughts, "Both of you. For caring for me, and protecting me. Father, when I was in Anakin's time, I faced another opponent, Grievous, and he nearly killed me. I've thought that you were being unnecessarily rough when you amputated my arm at Cloud City, but I know now that you were being as careful as you could."
"I was not careful enough," Vader returned.
"I didn't exactly manage that battle without hurting you either. How's your shoulder healing?" Luke asked.
"It's healing well. That was a very good attack."
Luke laughed, "It was a mistake. I was panicking."
"It was a good panic, then."
Before Anakin, the sky rearranged itself into stars, and he spotted Coruscant. He found himself immediately looking for the spires of the Jedi Temple, and was startled, and slightly pleased, when Vader took them down to it. Seeing the condition of his home, Anakin felt a terrible pain. The once pristine columns and rooftops were pitted and scarred by blasterfire, and he could sense the last moments of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Jedi's lives. He tried, and failed to hold down a shiver. Glancing over at Luke, he saw horror in his friend's face. He had thought that Luke would be able to take this with the same calm with which he had accepted the return to his galaxy. Seeing the fear, he hugged Luke tightly before pulling him to his feet and leading him to the doors, where Vader stopped him.
"Palpatine has taken up residence in the council chamber," Vader started.
"Sidious is living here?" Anakin demanded, a great feeling of violation creeping through him.
"Yes. I thought you should know that he has some… rather macabre decorations. Try to hold yourself together."
"I'll try," Anakin answered testily.
Beside him, Luke nodded, mute. Anakin gave him a gentle squeeze, and released him. Vader pushed past him, and led the way down the ramp and through the familiar halls of Anakin's home. Anakin gazed around in agony, and he could feel Luke shaking beside him. As was to be expected of any battlefield, the ground was littered with corpses, rotted away to skeletons now. The only difference here was that some effort had obviously been used to preserve them, some standing in glass cases, all still dressed in Jedi robes and holding lightsabers. Anakin was forced to hold back his gag reflex as they passed Jedi he knew in passing, who had been made into taxidermy in the same way as game on some primitive planet.
Luke had hurried ahead to walk very close to Vader, who's sheer familiarity with the gruesome display made Anakin feel a little bit less revolted by it. They had prevented this from happening in his own galaxy, he told himself, Palpatine was dead. All the Jedi were safe. The Sith had vanished from the galaxy. He forced himself to focus on Luke and Vader, each beacons of light in the pitch black of the remains of the temple, and smiled as one of Luke's trembling hands slipped into Vader's glove for protection. As he watched Vader's hand tighten protectively on Luke's however, there was a horrible crack from under one of his feet, and as he leapt aside, he saw what it was. He had accidentally shattered the skeletal hand of a Jedi youngling.
As though the hollow of the bone had been containing it, a horrible feeling of terror swept over Anakin, and he suddenly knew the child. He saw the girl's life, her friends, her usual life, and then the last moments of her life, himself cutting her down. He spun away, and finally couldn't control the nausea anymore. When his stomach was empty, he found Luke crouching beside him, Vader standing over both of them.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked, looking terrified, but obviously not having sensed what Anakin had seen.
Anakin forced himself to nod, "I'll be all right." He pulled himself to his feet, "I'd like to get this over with."
Luke nodded fervently, and Vader continued to lead them onwards. Now, though, Luke stayed with Anakin, and tried to take the horror out of their surroundings by telling Anakin stories. Anakin listened as hard as he could, glad of Luke's presence. He allowed himself only consciousness enough to see where he was stepping, not wanting a repeat of his previous experience. At long last, they reached the doors to the council chamber, and Luke stopped in the middle of telling Anakin how Obi-Wan had saved him from a krayt dragon in the Jundland Wastes.
Vader turned back to them, "Are you prepared?"
Anakin nodded, and he sensed Luke also communicating assent.
Vader walked back to them, binders held out.
"Hey!" Anakin protested, "You didn't say anything about this!" he started to squirm away.
Vader grabbed him by the front of his robes, "I'm not going to sell you into slavery. This is an act. Calm down. Palpatine will never let us near him if I don't cuff you. You know how to remove binders with the Force. You need to trust me."
In a fit of terror, anger, and frustration at his own reaction Anakin answered, "I don't trust you in the slightest!"
"Be that as it may," Vader answered, moving to Luke, who obediently held out his hands to be cuffed, "You will have to cooperate."
"It'll be okay," Luke promised, showing Anakin his own cuffed hands, "Look, I could almost slide my hands right out of them without any help," he said, folding his hand so that the cuff nearly slid off.
Anakin grabbed the binders from Vader's hands and clipped them on himself, still embarrassed by his initial reaction, and how Vader had answered it. He had long expected people not to understand his fear of confinement, to merely let it go as another oddity of Anakin Skywalker. However, he could feel himself already squirming uncomfortably against the cool metal.
"I've lived with this for twenty years," Vader said, "Surely you can bear it for a few moments."
Anakin forced his hands to be still, and nodded stiffly. He would have been worried about their conversation so close to the emperor, had he not remembered how soundproof the circular room was.
Vader opened the door with the Force, and there in the center of the old room sat Palpatine, further horrific taxidermy of the Jedi council sitting in the surrounding chairs, save Yoda's, Obi-Wan's, and Anakin's.
Vader bowed to the Emperor, and the dark man sneered. Anakin could sense his friend standing up straight, unshaken by Palpatine. He followed suit, glad that his hands weren't trembling any longer.
"Lord Vader," Palpatine greeted, "And not one, but two young Skywalkers. How is this possible?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Anakin spat.
Palpatine laughed darkly, "Quite possibly. You've met your future, I see."
"It's not my future any longer," Anakin answered defiantly.
"Oh, isn't it? Padme may be long dead, but as long as Luke lives, you have a weakness. A very fragile weakness," he added, and Anakin watched Luke torn from his side, and carried over to the remains of Mace Windu, who seemed misshapen, very scarred, and a bit burned. Luke gave a yelp of surprise, and struggled to get away.
"Luke Skywalker, meet Mace Windu of the Jedi council," Palpatine laughed, and Anakin couldn't shake the feeling that it was all a grand game to him. Mace's dead eyes turned to Luke, slightly unfocused, and one of his hands moved, as though asking for a handshake, and Anakin realized that it wasn't attached to his body.
Luke was shaking by now, fighting against Palpatine's Force grip with all he had. Anakin glanced at his terrified friend, then back to Palpatine, leaping towards the man, and managing to plant a foot against his head, landing unsteadily, still bound. Palpatine took a moment to recover, which Luke used to dash away from Windu, whose hand had fallen to the ground.
Then Palpatine spoke again, and all humour was gone, "Not you, then."
Suddenly, Anakin was in his grip, too tight to escape, and he was pushed against what remained of Plo Koon. He forced himself not to shudder.
"Stop!" Luke cried, "Stop it!"
Anakin was dropped, and he stood once again. Luke had slipped his binders, which lay, still locked, on the floor behind him, and he'd snatched a lightsaber from Vader's belt, apparently at random, considering that its blade was red. He was racing at Palpatine, anger and fear clouding his judgement more obviously that Anakin had thought possible. Anakin quickly used the Force to unlock his own binders, and took his own lightsaber from Vader's belt and arrived just in time to save Luke from his own hurried actions. Behind him, he heard Vader ignite Luke's lightsaber.
Palpatine looked noticeably disturbed when Vader started moving towards him as well, "Leave Luke alive," he hissed, as though believing he could order Vader to kill his past self. Anakin tried to put his lightsaber through the emperor, expecting Palpatine to counter with his red blade. He was met instead with the agony of Force lightning. He was thrown back into one of the windows, which gave an ominous groan. He scrambled away from it as quickly as he could. Luke was the next to receive a bolt of the blue energy, and he flew after Anakin, who hurriedly picked him back up.
"Are you all right?" Anakin asked quickly.
Luke nodded, and turned to try again. Anakin began to follow him and saw that Vader was making a valiant attempt to get to Palpatine with Luke's lightsaber, dodging madly through the hail of lightning. Anakin was perplexed by how hard he was trying to avoid it, and suddenly Luke explained.
"Father! Get away from him! If he hits you, the life support," Luke started, before Palpatine caught him with a stray jolt of lightning, which had lost enough of its power that Luke simply crumpled to the floor. Anakin quickly grabbed him and rested his twitching body behind one of the chairs.
"You'll be all right," Anakin promised, "Breathe deeply."
Luke nodded weakly, still gasping for breath, and Anakin stepped out from behind the chair. He watched helplessly as Palpatine temporarily gave up on Force lightning in favour of a means of getting Vader into an easier firing range. As Sidious threw dark power at his apprentice, throwing him across the room, all Anakin could do was catch him and rest him, as carefully as possible, on his feet.
Get around behind him, Vader's voice in Anakin's mind said, I'll distract him, and you go for the kill.
Anakin nodded, and ran around the perimeter of the room, racing up to Palpatine's back just as Vader made a mistake in his constant evasion of the lightning, and it caught him. The adrenaline boiling through Anakin's veins spurred him to stab through Palpatine, but then Vader fell, and he realized what the Sith had done.
He gave himself up for us. For me, and Luke.
He hurried to the man's side, yanking out the panel of the chest plate, looking in at the partly fried wires inside. Vader shook his head slowly, "It's no use," he said, "Where's Luke?"
"It must be!" Anakin answered, "I'm good at fixing things," he said, hearing the childishness in his voice. He hadn't realized that Vader could care so deeply as to give himself for another, and he wanted Vader rewarded, not punished, for his bravery.
"Where's Luke?" Vader asked again.
"I'm here," Luke said, and Anakin saw in his peripheral vision that Luke had stood from behind the chair and was coming to them. While Anakin continued to work feverishly with Vader's chest panel, yanking wires out of his prosthetic when necessary, Luke sat down beside his father, deathly calm, and took one of his hands, squeezing it tightly.
Vader's helmet had turned up to his son, apparently unaware that Anakin was still trying to save him.
"My son," he said softly, and Anakin saw through panic sharpened vision, that the title had made Luke smile sadly.
"I'm here, Father."
"You're so brave," Vader said, and Anakin felt a thrill of horror as he realized that father and son both saw what was happening as a goodbye. He rolled Vader onto his side to access the backpack he knew was worn under his cape. As Vader started gasping for breath, Anakin used the Force to keep his lungs working without the help of the support systems.
"Not really," Luke said, "Only desperate."
"I'm going to have to ask you to be brave again," Vader said.
Luke nodded, "What do you need?"
"Help me take my mask off. I'd like to see you, just once, before I die."
"You're not dying!" Anakin protested, putting some more wires together, "I've nearly finished saving you."
"I can't do that, Father," Luke said gently, not repeating Anakin's reasoning, just making it clear that he wouldn't.
"Then…" Vader gasped, "Tell your sister… that I love her."
Anakin tied two last wires together, and felt Vader's body gasp for the much needed air, "You can tell her yourself," he commanded.
Luke met his eyes, and Anakin saw the shine of tears in his eyes, "He's going to be all right?" Luke demanded, still clinging to his father's hand.
Anakin stood up, and carefully lifted Vader as well, slipping his arm around his shoulders, "He'll survive.
Luke took Vader's other arm, and slung it around his shoulders, "Did you hear that? You're going to be all right!"
Vader gave a weak laugh, "I heard."
Anakin started to pull Vader out of the room, aware of Luke clinging to Vader's other side and hurrying along as well, keeping his spine straight, and Vader as upright as he possibly could. The added strain it put on him was more than he had strength for after facing two Sith Lords in as many days. Anakin watched as he stumbled, and fell to the floor on his hands and knees.
"I can manage him myself," Anakin offered.
Luke shook his head, standing up again, and resuming helping, despite Anakin's and Vader's protests.
"I'm fine," he argued.
Anakin pulled Vader a little more securely onto his own shoulder, "Luke, I need you to run ahead, and have our ship ready to go. Can you do that for me?"
Luke fell for it, "Sure," he said, hurrying off before he could think better of it. Anakin tightened his grip on Vader's arm.
"You've helped him a great deal," Vader said, and Anakin turned to see that he was trying to get his feet under himself.
"Relax," Anakin told him, and he stopped struggling, "I don't see how any of this is my doing."
"You helped him to accept me," Vader admitted, "He leapt to what could well have been his death to end our last encounter."
"After you cut off his hand?"
Vader didn't answer, his head hanging, and Anakin realized that he might have gone too far. He added, "I know it was an accident."
"I should have been more careful," Vader answered, "He's all I have left, and I should have taken better care of him."
"Leia wants me to take him back with me to my own time," Anakin told Vader, "But you should keep him here. You saw how happy he was to hear that you're going to be alright. You love each other, and you have a very special bond."
Vader was silent again.
"You need to keep him here," Anakin said, "He likes it here, and he loves his friends and family. He doesn't have all that waiting for him when I'm from."
"He has his mother, though, doesn't he?"
"Yes," Anakin admitted, "But when we parted, she still hadn't accepted that she was his mother. He hasn't got her to compare you against, if that's what you're worried about."
"I can't keep him from an opportunity to know her," Vader said, and they walked in silence for several paces, "I only wish she had come with you."
"She is very pregnant," Anakin answered, "Even if she had been needed for our fight against Sidious, it might have been dangerous for the babies if she had come."
Vader nodded as they turned the corner into the hanger where Luke waited impatiently at the foot of the ramp of their idling ship.
"Promise me you'll name the girl after our mother," Vader asked.
"After Mom?" Anakin asked, surprised, "Why wouldn't we name her Leia, just as she would have been named if they hadn't come back to change the course of the galaxy?"
"Leia will be better off with you as well," Vader answered as Luke spotted them and came racing across the hanger, grabbing Vader's other arm again and hauling him to his feet, hurrying them to the ship.
She should return home with you as well, Vader told Anakin through the Force, and Anakin knew that he didn't want Luke to know of their discussion.
"Luke, would you take him back to the medical bed, and try to help him if you can?" Anakin asked.
Luke nodded, and Anakin reluctantly allowed him to take Vader's full weight, and watched as he stumbled back to the medbay. He then hurried to the cockpit and lifted off. He wasn't sure what to think. It had been wonderfully simple when he could simply allow himself to hate Vader for what he'd done, but the longing in his voice as he'd spoken of Padme had been far too sincere to disbelieve. He had nearly given his life for Luke, and had been completely certain that he had killed himself in his sacrifice, he had spoken of both children while nearing death, and yet, could want Anakin to take them back to a safer time, for their own good, and not Vader's. Anakin resolved that his reaction to Obi-Wan would be his final test.
