Chapter 4 - Wherever You Will Lead

Author's Note: Truths come out. :D

~ Amina Gila


"This is amazing," Luke says cheerfully, as Vader's fighter streaks through space, nothing but stars – and smoking debris – all around them. He chose to wait to materialize until after the battle was over because he didn't exactly want to watch Vader shooting down all the rebels, though watching how easily he was able to take out an entire fleet was still... awe-striking.

"What is?" Vader asks, sounding a touch amused.

Luke adjusts his position half on top of the back of Vader's seat – this is only a fighter for one person, after all. "Uhh... your flying."

Vader's amusement flares, as he slows the fighter down, circling to head back for the waiting Star Destroyer. "Can you appear tangibly here?"

"I don't think there's room," Luke says, nearly laughing at the thought of Vader seeing the ridiculous position he's in right now, perched on the back of his seat, with his legs hanging over the cyborg's shoulders though he can't even feel it. Vader seems well aware that Luke is pretty much on top of him, though. "I tried and I don't think you could see me."

"I could not," Vader agrees, sounding thoughtful, "I am not immersed in the Force right now. That may be why."

Luke can't deny his disappointment. "I suppose that means I only can appear to you when you're meditating?"

"It appears so, or at least when I am focusing on your Force presence."

"Hmph." Luke leans closer, the top of his head phasing through the fighter. If he tried to appear physically now, he'd probably kill his ghost. If that's possible. "But I'd have to move if I tried to appear right now, anyway."

"I am well aware that you are on top of me," Vader replies, dryly.

"You can sense it that clearly?"

"Yes."

Maybe being a ghost isn't as bad as he thought it would be. He's still upset, angry over everything that's been lost, but... He's just getting more used to it. A certain sense of acceptance had settled over him now, and really, there's nothing he can do but learn to accept it. This is forever and no one can change it. It's – it's the natural order of things.

Vader seems a little better too, but there's still a crushing depression and emptiness that clings to him constantly, even if he occasionally seems to feel better, like right now.

"Do you mind?" Luke asks, a little sheepishly.

Vader moves, his hand passing right through Luke's foot. Maybe he should get it off the dashboard. "Why would I object to such a matter?"

Luke snorts. "Maybe because I'm a little old for this?"

"You are?"

He shrugs, though Vader can't see it. "Do we have to go back already?" The TIE fighter is just reaching the hangar doors now.

"For now," Vader replies, "There are matters I must attend to."

Luke phases through the wall of the fighter before Vader can stand up right through him, then waits for his father to climb from the TIE fighter to the ground. It's almost amusing to be able to move between so many people, all the while knowing none of them will ever be able to see him.

It'll always be their secret, not that there's anyone else either of them would have to tell about it anyway.

**w**

The only thing that keeps Leia's mind off Alderaan is being constantly on the move, doing everything she can for the rebellion. This is for Alderaan. Her people will have justice. Even if a certain sense of overwhelming hopelessness nearly crushes her at sporadic moments, she always tries to force it away, reminding herself that the fight isn't lost, and they won't stop until they win.

Her Force training is a major part of that, and she can't help thinking back to what happened on the Death Star. This 'Daughter' hasn't spoken to her again, but Leia can't help wondering if that's because the former light she often felt has been severely lacking, since Alderaan. It's hard to find any moment of solace.

And she wants to know what the Daughter meant by "her destiny becoming clear", because if it's supposed to be, it certainly hasn't yet. Is there something else she needs to be doing?

It takes her meditating for a long time, drawing on her emotions towards... her friendships with Han and Chewie and focusing on Ben's rainstorm of a presence – though it's hard to feel calm when sensing that, but at least he's here – and... her emotions towards the father she never knew. (Thinking about her adopted family is too... hard right now.) Yes, she's not supposed to use the Force by drawing off emotions, but focusing on light emotions seem to make it easier to find peace and calm than anything else, and so she... finds it, if only for a moment.

"You spoke to me before," Leia says, when the Daughter materializes in front of her. If she's here again, it couldn't have been a trick of her mind. It must've been real. "You said my destiny would become clear. I – I don't see anything clearer in front of me right now. Is there something more you can tell me?"

"You were meant to find this on your own," the Daughter replies, "But the balance of the universe still worsens. Because you have reached for me now, there is more I can tell you. The Force would not normally allow this level of intervention, but it is necessary now."

"Then why didn't you come to me again sooner?" Leia asks.

"As I said, this is your destiny. You must choose it."

That takes all the pressure off. Not. "What do I need to do?" Leia asks, "Does this have to do with the rebellion? Is there something we need to do, to win faster?" That's really all she can think of, even if it's probably far more complicated than that.

"It's about the entire galaxy," she replies, "Once, when there were countless Jedi, the Force was already out of balance. They drew on the Light, but they did not spread light. They didn't bring the peace the Light should – they caused endless destruction. The Sith were in hiding but twisting the Dark Side into a weapon to spread senseless destruction – also as it was never intended to be."

It feels true, as surprising as it is. "That's never what Ben says about the Jedi," Leia objects.

"He has lost his way, as all the Jedi did. You must have seen he's Falling."

An icy feeling twists inside of her. Yes, she has but she never truly realized that's what she's been sensing until the Daughter laid it out so plainly. And she doesn't think he's even noticed. She's worried about him. "I have. I don't know what to do," Leia admits. For all that she cares about him, she doesn't know him, and that means she doesn't know how she'd help him.

"That may not be where you need to start. To balance itself, the Force made an individual more powerful than any other, destined to bring balance. A son of the Force, twice the strength you have, grandchild of the Force."

Wait –

"You mean –" Ben said her father was powerful, but this is something else entirely. It she really saying...

"Yes, he was your father."

Leia stills. "What?! Then what... happened to him?" If it was his "destiny" to balance the Force, how could he already be dead?

"The Jedi found him, trained him in their way and it hurt him continuously. He was too light for them, and their... influence pushed him to the Dark. The Force had to right itself, so it used him to destroy them."

Wait – wait

"Your father still lives. The Sith turned him to their side, where he is now... trapped. The Force is angry at how everyone has treated its son and now it intends to right that."

Waiiiit – "Ben said that... that Anakin was killed by Vader," Leia says, faintly. She'd thought it was a lie, though she didn't know why, but now...

"He is Vader."

Leia sucks in a sharp breath – metaphorically, anyway. Vader. He's – he was Anakin. Her father. He – He also tortured her, on the Death Star. And Ben nearly killed him there. He nearly killed Ben, ten years ago. Yet every time Ben mentions him, it's in nothing but fondness, and none of this makes any sense.

"How does that make any sense? How's that possible? What am I supposed to do?" Leia demands, desperately.

"So long as you're in the physical realm, this is all I can tell you," the Daughter says, though she sounds apologetic. "The choices you make now are your own." With that, she fades out, leaving Leia alone in her favorite corner on the Falcon, with absolutely no idea what to do now.

Vader is her father. And Ben lied to her. About everything.

She draws in a few breaths, trying to even her breathing and stay calm. She had to do this all the time in the Senate. But usually, it wasn't because her mentor was withholding this kind of information, or because she just found out that her birth father was –

Is still apparently alive and Imperial, and tortured her, and is also in serious need of help.

Alright, first things first. She needs to talk to Ben.

Leia goes to find Obi-Wan immediately; he's never hard to find unless he's on a mission. She genuinely doesn't know how to approach this diplomatically. "When you said Vader betrayed and killed Anakin, you never meant literally did you?" Leia demands, crossing her arms.

Ben stills for a moment too long. "What do you mean?"

"You were lying, weren't you? Vader is Anakin."

There's a heartbeat of silence.

"How did you know?" Ben demands, sharply. Because that's the first thing he has to say?

"Is it true?" she retorts, staring him down.

"You don't understand, Leia," Ben objects, "Vader destroyed the good person Anakin used to be. Your father is gone. He is more machine now than man, twisted and evil."

What he's saying doesn't even make sense. "But you... care about Anakin," Leia argues, slowly, "I don't understand. You were trying to kill him. And I thought he was trying to kill you years before."

"He is not Anakin," Ben replies sharply, "Where did you even hear this?"

"I spoke to the Daughter," she replies, "She... told me."

He frowns. "What did she say?"

Telling Ben it was the will of the Force for his people to be destroyed would be very insensitive. She'd be furious if someone told her that about Alderaan. But she's good at saying things diplomatically. "That he was... the son of the Force, and still destined to bring balance, but he has been pushed further into the darkness by the actions of those around him."

"This was his choice, Leia," Ben argues.

"I wouldn't know," she replies. She doesn't know Vader and she's only interacted with him negatively, but... when she saw him, she knew his mask was nothing but a mask. A way to scare people when he's the one who's most afraid and if he has so much power and wants to be evil, that doesn't make sense. "When I saw him, he – he felt like he needed help," she goes on, bluntly. She's always wanted to help people in the past, and she knows many Imperials have either been blinded by the Empire too or just feel trapped there. They might've hurt people, but that's not a reason not to help them.

She can't promise she'd think the same if this was Tarkin, who destroyed Alderaan, but that isn't on Vader.

"I offered him that once. He... didn't want to leave," Ben replies, stubbornly.

"You have to speak in a language they'll understand," Leia replies, "And I couldn't tell you what that is. I don't know him. But I'd like to know how things... came to this point. Why did he Fall?"

Ben hesitates.

She raises an eyebrow, incredulously. "You don't know?"

"He wanted power."

"Is that what he said?"

"It was apparent from his actions."

"Did you ever ask him?"

She can feel his anger only growing, though partly to mask his... grief. (On some inner level, she can't help wondering if he knows he's deliberately blinding himself. Even if he's entirely convinced himself that he isn't.) "There was no reason to."

"Your guilt is... preventing you from seeing," Leia says, staring at him, "It – You can't believe there's any good left in him, to protect yourself. After what you lost, I can... understand that. But I don't think it's going to help."

Ben doesn't reply. She thinks the words hit far deeper than she intended, but she doesn't know what else to say. She needs time to think about this.

She wants to know more about her father, even if she's afraid to. She can't say she sees him as her father, but she respected him, respected Anakin, and she can't believe he's come to this point. And people can want power for good reasons, with time twisting it. The only way to know is to get to know him, and she will have to figure out what to do from here.

This is urgent. The galaxy itself is in danger, so she has to take action immediately.

But in truth, even if not for that, she'd do it for Anakin regardless, for what little she knows of him. He was a good person, and he – there has to be some reason he's become what he is now. She just needs to find him.

**w**

Vader moves mechanically through the field of rebels, taking down whoever's fighting him. The others are already scrambling, realizing they won't win this time. Although in truth, Vader feels more numb about this than he ever has before. He's doing this for the Empire, but he – he wants to be with Luke. That's all that truly matters to him anymore, even if it's selfish.

He can only do that when he's meditating, even if sometimes feels like reaching for a life he's never going to have. But at least he can still talk to his child, and sometimes it feels like... it's really real.

And that's when he senses someone else familiar right behind him.

"Princess?" Vader asks, turning.

Leia's still mostly concealed in the tree line and is holding a blaster, though clearly aware enough to know that pointing it at him would be useless. Her bravery is both impressive and foolish – why is she out here almost entirely alone?

He can sense two others close by, though they're keeping themselves hidden. Likely, that smuggler and Wookie.

But there's something about her that's strangely conflicted, and he thinks it has something to do with... him? Though he can't clearly tell what.

"You are here for a reason," Vader notes, studying her. Sunlight glints on the lightsaber she's carrying and... it's his. The one that belonged to him.

After everything, Obi-Wan must've given his lightsaber to her, and he's training her. A surge of jealousy and helpless anger floods him. Why does this girl matter so much when – when Anakin never did? Even if Vader feels something important about her, too, though he can't make sense of it. He'd felt numb to all of this, until he ran into Obi-Wan again. Now he can't shake it from mind again. That he knows they'll have to confront each other again isn't helping.

"Yes," she agrees, "You're – you haven't always been who you are now. You were once Anakin Skywalker."

Why is she asking? How would she know? Did Obi-Wan tell her? "What does it matter?" Vader demands, sharply.

She's... afraid, nervous at least, but not exactly of him. She's here for something, some reason, and it has to do with his identity, though he can't fathom what. "I doubt you know," she replies, "But I was a war orphan. Anakin Skywalker was my birth father."

What?

That doesn't – "That is impossible," Vader objects. Is it, though? She looks about the same age as Luke, but then why were they on entirely different sides of the galaxy? Why –

"It is," she replies, staring up at him with that look of stubbornness she always does, even if there's an obvious hint of uncertainty there. He can feel it, even if she's hiding it. And for an aching moment, she suddenly makes him think so much of Padme. "How?" Vader demands, "How do you know?"

He has to know if this is really true. If it's –

"Ben told me."

His daughter is alive. He – he had twins. And one of his children is still alive. Even if his son is gone. The Force indicates that it's true, and as relieving as it is... He tortured her, hurt her.

"He hid you from me," Vader says, finally. He has no idea what to say, how to begin addressing their relationship. One of his children is still alive. To hear that now feels like it's awakening something inside of him again that he thought died long ago, that... learning about Luke had rekindled and re-destroyed at once, because even if he wasn't the one to kill his son, that didn't mean his son was even alive anymore. And he was still indirectly responsible for his death.

Luke is hovering close by, and Vader can feel his shock – he obviously had no idea, either. "Obi-Wan never mentioned that you had a twin?" Vader asks him, telepathically.

"No. When I first saw her, I sensed a connection, but I couldn't understand what it meant."

"Why wouldn't you have known about ne?" Leia asks, studying him. For all that he hurt her, he doesn't sense the hatred he would've expected.

"For years, I believed you dead." When his mind is still reeling with the news, dumping on her right now that she also has a dead twin brother is probably not the wisest decision. He doesn't know how well she'd take that either, after she lost her planet.

Force.

His daughter is... She lost everything.

And she's also his enemy, but it won't stay that way. He won't let it. He'll – Though he has no idea if she'll even want anything to do with him, but if she didn't, then why did she come here to find him?

"Why did you seek me out?" he asks.

"I had to know if it was true, if you were really... him," she replies, evenly.

"I did not realize who you were," he begins. How does he even begin addressing what he did to her? "Had I known you were alive, I would have found you long ago." He would have kept her safe, but given that it's the Empire that hurt her, he doesn't know how receptive she'd be to hearing that right now.

"Why do you do this?" Leia asks, and it sounds genuinely curious even if maybe a little hurt, "Fight for the Empire, I mean? You were a Jedi, once."

"The Empire was intended to bring peace and stability to the Empire. When the Jedi betrayed the Republic, I had no intention to join them. I only desired to stop the galaxy from falling further." And because he couldn't leave. Because he had to save Leia and her mother from dying. It was Leia he thought he was going to have. And she's – she's real. He and Padme were both right in the end.

"The Empire has done nothing but destroy the galaxy, no matter how many lies they tell to the contrary," she replies, fiercely.

For a moment, all Vader can remember is Luke's dead body lying motionless in the sand. He can feel his son mentally pressing closer, trying to offer whatever comfort he can. "They have," he agrees, finally, "But that was not how it was intended to be."

"You want to make it different?" she asks cautiously, tentatively hopeful.

"I always have," he replies. He can't, because of Sidious. But if one of his children is alive, then maybe... Whatever it takes, he won't let her be hurt again. He won't let her die the way Luke did to the Empire, no matter what he has to do.

"Could we go with her?"Luke asks, hopefully.

Vader can't help momentarily glancing to where he hears the voice, though no one is standing there. It probably looked... rather weird, for Leia. "We spoke of this, once."

"But that was before we knew about her!"

"That is not the only way," he promises. Luke and Leia deserve the chance to know each other, too. "Come with me. Together, we can overthrow the Emperor, and rule the galaxy in his stead."

For a moment, Leia just stares at him, the first very visible crack in her mask. She wasn't expecting the offer. Likely, she didn't even know if he would care about her. Not that she'd have a way to know, after how they met.

"Why not come to the rebellion, if this is what you want?" she asks, finally, "We could use what you know."

"If the Empire falls, the galaxy will shatter completely." He'd take the risk, if it was the only way to keep her safe, but he thinks there's still another way.

"This is the only way we have hope of stopping this oppression."

"The Emperor is responsible. If you ruled in his stead –"

"Me?" she repeats, almost incredulously.

"Yes. And I would enforce your will, rid the galaxy of corruption."

She gapes. "I –"

"The Empire has destroyed much, but so has the Rebellion. If you wait to gather enough support, the entire galaxy will be destroyed before you win. Come with me, and we can destroy the Emperor. You will not need to fight the Rebellion."

"You're... serious," Leia realizes finally, blinking.

"I am," Vader affirms, "You are my daughter. Had I known before, you... would not have been harmed."

Her expression tightens. "Have you thought this through?" she asks, clearly uncomfortable with addressing that topic right now. Vader can't say he wants to, either, even if he has too eventually. "If I went with you, someone would know."

He's never tried to hide something this extreme from his master before, but he'll find a way. "There are ways to conceal you. I could take you directly to my castle. We must move fast, so the Emperor does not learn of your presence. And with the Empire," he adds, as afterthought, "You will have more resources, to use to your Rebellion's benefit."

She hesitates for a few more moments, before deflating. "Fine, but I'm not coming entirely alone."

The other two Vader still senses close by? They already heard their entire conversation, but that doesn't mean it's safe for them to know more. "You trust them?" he asks, evenly, "To not betray us to the Rebellion or anyone else?"

"Yes," she replies, firmly. That she didn't waver for even a moment is probably a good sign, but Vader will keep a close eye on them.

"Very well," he concedes, "Then we should leave, if you are ready."

Leia hesitates for a moment, glancing back into the trees. "Just a second." She disappears a few paces away, but Vader can still hear it.

"I think you've gone as crazy as the old man, is what I think," the smugger calls, moving closer through the brush.

"I know what I'm doing, Han," she replies, firmly. She lowers her voice, but not enough that he can't make out the words. "If you don't want to come, you don't have to, but –"

The Wookie growls.

"Now hold on," Han interrupts, "I'm not letting you run off with Darth Vader all alone."

Leia feels touched, in the Force. Their friendship is... deeper than Vader thinks either of them realize yet. "Alright, just don't do anything stupid."

"You're saying that?" Han asks, dryly.

"That went better than I thought. She's the... former Alderaani princess, right?"Luke asks.

"Yes," Vader replies, "Will you be able to appear to her as well?"

"I don't know, but I'll try." He sounds excited, as if that's a surprise. He just found out he has a sister. Of course, he'd be eager to meet her.

Leia emerges from the trees moments later, followed by Han and the Wookie. "I have to go back to base to get ready to go. I'll come in their ship if you tell me the coordinates."

Not Vader's preferred method, but she's probably far more comfortable with it that way. It's only been weeks since the Death Star. "Obi-Wan cannot know," Vader warns. He has no doubt that he'd try to interfere, and that... (He couldn't handle that.)

She eyes him for a long moment. "I know. I'll... be back soon." She lingers a few moments longer before disappearing into the trees.

Vader watches her go, longing twisting inside of him, but for the first time since everything fell two decades ago, he has the feeling that maybe things can actually get better.

"I hope she'll be back soon," Luke is hovering next to him, eagerness pouring off him. "I always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling."

"I did as well, sometimes," Vader comments. The clones were much like that but at the end of the day, he was still their General and they were Republic property, slaves. And Ahsoka was just as much his child as she was his little sister. He doesn't know what it's like to be entirely equal to another, on both sides. He can't really fathom it.

"Well, maybe we'll both get to find out," he offers, hopefully.

Luke's grown more used to being a part of the Force now. Likely, it's something he was able to accept far easier than Vader because he's the one... beyond. But at least he's doing better.

And soon, Vader can hope, Leia will join them.

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