All of the Light had faded from the throne room. The only thing that remained was that darkness emanating from the two figures that stood not far from her.

Anna was very much awake now. However, she was still weak, and trying to push herself up off of the floor was proving to be difficult. All that she could see was Luke's form, unmoving, on the floor. She was in shock from it all, the lingering of the phantom pain still affecting her movements. She didn't care that she was now the target, but all she could think of was Luke.

Please don't be dead, she thought to herself. Please don't be dead. Not now. This is not how it was meant to be.

She felt the binders around her wrists fall away, and she collapsed to the ground once more. She wanted nothing but to crawl to Luke's side, but her muscles were much too tired for any sot of movement. Even the minuscule distance between the floor and where she had been holding herself up on the railing had been enough to make them scream in resistance, begging her to take the urge of sleep and let them rest. However, her heart was pulling her toward him, and she couldn't deny her feelings.

Slowly, she pushed herself to her knees, taking in air sharply as she fought to get her lungs working properly once again. Even though the pain had been felt through the Force for her, she could still feel the aftereffects as if the bolts had torn through her own body. She couldn't get any higher than her knees, and began to crawl over to where he lay motionless on the black floor.

She reached Luke, who was lying on his side, facing away from her. His arms were splayed out above his head, and his eyes were closed. His body emitted a light blue glow from the Force Lightning still leaving his body, but there were no signs that he was still alive. There was no movement from him at all, and she feared the worst. Was he really gone?

"I am true to my word," the Emperor said. She refused to look at him. He might have taken the life of the one she loved, and didn't care now that she would probably be the next one. She didn't want to say anything to him, even though she desperately wanted to.

She lay a hand on the side of Luke's face, his skin still warm, and for a moment she had hope. She wanted him to open his eyes, just so that she could have something to hold onto. However, he remained still, and all she could think of then was what to say to everyone once she got back. How could she break the news to them about Luke being gone? Their hope to bring down the Empire had faded, and showed no signs of returning.

"What about me?" she asked weakly, slowly turning her head to the side. She refused to let the anger well up inside. It was what the Emperor wanted, she knew, and all she wanted to do was to run her lightsaber through his chest, avenging Luke, but she couldn't move.

The floor underneath shook, and she was knocked off balance, falling awkwardly against Luke's body. She raised her head to see supports of the room crashing in around them, and in that moment, she remembered. The assault on the Death Star. Han must've got the shield down, and the attack would be underway. The countdown was on.

The Emperor was about to speak when the elevator doors whooshed open, and out strode a high-ranking official.

"My Lord, Your Grace, we must evac…" he stopped when he saw the scene in front of him.

"My apologies," he said, not knowing how to handle what was in front of him.

"My Royal Guards have already sent for my shuttle," the Emperor said. "No need to worry, Major Shay, my apprentice and I are taken care of."

At the mention of the name, Anna's eyes narrowed. She knew exactly who it was, the one who had invaded the room, and she felt her free hand clench into a fist. In that moment, she didn't care about the anger. In her newfound strength, she pushed herself up off of Luke's body, standing to face the major, her chin up and her eyes blazing with anger.

He looked just the same as when she had last seen him on Coruscant. He seemed to have aged a little bit, as being apart of the Empire seemed to have taken away some of his younger years. However, he was not looking at her with the usual sly smile he had before, instead, he was fearful. He had heard rumours of a young girl, an ex-smuggler said to be apart of the Rebellion. He hadn't believed it at firs,t but now here she stood, and he was afraid of what she was now. Powerful, no doubt, no longer naive like she had been back when she had smuggled for him.

She called her saberstaff to her outstretched hand, and was ready to ignite it and end the life of the one that had caused her trouble even after she had left him behind, but something stopped her. A pushing feeling on her heart, and she knew. Killing this man would not end the suffering, it would not make up for the years she had lost running, just as killing the Emperor or Vader wouldn't bring Luke back.

"Still don't have the strength to do it?" he said, but his voice wavered. She glared at him, still not saying anything. She didn't have to. Her look spoke for her, and as much as it hurt her to not take advantage of the opportunity she had, she twirled the hilt of her saberstaff in her hand before tucking it inside of her camouflage poncho.

"It's not something I'm willing to die for," she said, and began to walk toward him. He moved instantly, still afraid of her, and she fully expected the Emperor or Vader to stop her, but she felt no resistance as she strode toward the open elevator.

With one last look over her shoulder, she saw Luke's still form, and closed her eyes. There would be a time to grieve, but not now.

The Rebellion needed her.

This chapter turned out a lot different than I initially planned. I had expected it to be a really sad, slow chapter, but after thinking about it for a while I decided to keep emotions high and keep the plot points going for when I start writing the sequel.

we only have one chapter left aaaa