This is finally it! The chapter in which things start to diverge from what is currently cannon in Star Wars while still remaining familiar.

Comments, follows and favorites are all appreciated.

And in case it isn't obvious: I don't own Star Wars but I wish I did. I'm just borrowing these characters for unsafe play.

As Obi-Wan turned down another empty corridor, he sensed a familiar presence reaching out to him through the Force. His old apprentice knew he was here and was challenging him to a duel.

Obi-Wan knew he could not escape it anymore. He needed to focus Vader's attention squarely on him so he'd completely ignore the less obvious but no less important Force signature that was also on the Death Star. Obi-Wan knew he couldn't kill his old apprentice and friend. All he could do was buy time and keep him distracted while Luke and the others got back to the Faulcon.

Obi-Wan removed his lightsaber from his belt and gripped it tightly in his hand. He sent a slight nudge to the Force to his fallen apprentice who immediately zeroed in on it and made his way towards him.

Obi-Wan did his best to hide his Force presence again. Before he could fight Vader, he needed to deactivate the tractor beam, or all of this would be for nothing.

Things were looking bad in the detention center. Stormtroopers had cut off Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca's escape route, leaving them trapped and fending for their lives.

"C3-PO! C3-PO!" Luke called urgently in his comlink. "Are there any other ways out of the cell bay? We've been cut off!"

"All systems have been alerted to your presence, sir," 3PO replied over the coms. "The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out. All other information on your level is restricted."

"There isn't any other way out!" Luke relayed to the others as they fired off blind shots towards the Stormtroopers.

"We can't hold them off forever. Now what?" Han cried out in exasperation as he fired another shot that hit a trooper square in the chest.

"Some rescue," Leia commented sarcastically. "You made it here! You got any plan for getting out?!"

Wow she's bossy, Luke noted to himself.

"Ease the brakes sweetheart!" Han yelled back at her less subtly.

"Will you both shut up!" Luke cut in, frustrated. "I'm trying to think of a plan."

Well he's bossy, Han and Leia thought.

Luke looked carefully at his surroundings, trying to figure out a way to escape. There has to be a way. Think! What would Ben do? Then it hit him. Luke grabbed his father's lightsaber off his belt and took his comlink in the other.

"3PO! What is right next to the detention center?" Luke asked over the coms.

"There is a medical center adjacent to the detention center, sir," C3-PO quickly replied. "But there is no way to access it from here without going through the main way…"

"Leave that to me," Luke replied with a smile before placing the comlink back on his belt. He turned to Han and Leia, handing the latter his blaster. "I need you both to cover me while I make our escape route."

"Are you nuts kid!?" Han asked, firing a perfect shot at an approaching Stormtrooper. "There IS no other escape route."

"Not yet, no. But soon," Luke said confidently, igniting the blue lightsaber and plunging it into the wall next to him. The blade went through like butter until it reached the hilt, after which Luke slowly started to move it to cut out a path.

"He's on to something," Leia said, placing herself between Luke and the Stormtroopers to cover him. She shot a glare at Han, who was looking at Luke with a dumbfounded expression. "Make yourself useful flyboy and keep those Stormtroopers away."

Han wanted to tell the princess that she should do it herself but under the circumstances he realized it wouldn't exactly be practical. Wordlessly, Han laid down suppressing fire as Luke continued to cut a hole through the wall of the detention center.

"I got it! I cut through!" Luke said excitedly. "Chewie! Can you give it a shove?"

Not needing to be asked twice, the Wookie ran right towards the cutout with a roar and pushed out a heavy slab of half-molten metal that fell to the floor with a heavy "thunk!".

"Everyone through!" Luke called out to the others.

Leia went first, then Chewbacca, then Luke and finally Han. Once they were all inside the medical center, Han held up a thermal detonator for everyone to see, a big smile plastered on his face.

"Fire in the hole!"

With that, the smuggler threw the primed explosive through the opening they'd just made as a squad of Stormtroopers came up on it.

It took a whole minute before another group dared to approach the opening, not willing to risk getting blown up like their former comrades. By then, the group of rebels had already escaped and disappeared into the maze that was the Death Star.

Obi-Wan was closing in on one of the seven couplers that linked the tractor beam to the main reactor. The terminal itself was precariously perched atop a deadly drop to the center of the Death Star. The only thing that separated Obi-Wan from certain death was a slim ledge that ran all around the terminal, barely wider than a person's foot.

Obi-Wan cautiously made his way over to the switches that controlled the power output from the main reactor and moved them until all the dials indicated zero. The tractor beam was now without power and the Faulcon would be able to take off without any worries.

Yet Obi-Wan didn't leave just yet. He waited, deep in thought, precariously perched over a deadly drop as he tried to figure out if there was more he could do… Then it hit him. Obi-Wan scoured the control panel until he found a terminal port. His hacking skills were a bit rusty since last he'd used them but he still remembered all the tricks his old Padawan had proudly shown to him over the years.

After a couple minutes, Obi-Wan had planted his ace in the hole that could come in use later. It was so deeply hidden in the Death Star's programming it would be next to impossible for someone to find intentionally.

Now I just need to be around to put it into effect, Obi-Wan reflected grimly.

Once this was done, Obi-Wan cautiously edged away from the terminal just as two patrolling Stormtroopers rounded a corner and stopped only a couple meters from where the old Jedi was hidden.

"Apparently we've got rebel scum onboard." one of the Stormtroopers noted with distain.

"Can't imagine they'll get very far," the other replied. "The entire garrison is on alert and they're only like… two."

"No they've got a Wookie with them. And they've freed the Alderaanian princess. Command thinks they're trying to rescue her."

"Sounds more like a suicide mission than a rescue. You think there are more of them on the station?"

"Probably. That's why we were told to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Obi-Wan had heard enough. The princess was free and Luke and the others would now be heading for the ship, which was now freed from its tractor beam. All that was left was to take care of the biggest threat on this station, even more dangerous than the station itself: Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan used the Force to make a noise that made the Stormtroopers turn and used the distraction to swiftly duck out of their line of sight.

"Probably nothing," one of the Stormtroopers commented. "Did you hear the rumors about a Jedi having resurfaced on Tattooine."

Obi-Wan stopped dead in his tracks. He leaned in to hear the rest of the conversation, curious to hear what the official reports were on his whereabouts.

"Yeah, I heard. I was on the investigation team and I'll tell you, I really hope those rumors are false. We had a whole squad that was decimated, couldn't even account for all the bodies, in front of an abandoned hut said to have housed the droids who were in position of the secret plans. We were able to find some tracts that led to Mos Eisley were we tracked down the group of rebels that boarded the ship we just pulled into the hangar."

"That's a fun coincidence. You were there when they escaped you and you get to be here when we capture them."

"Yeah keep your funny coincidences to yourself. We nearly stopped them as they boarded their ship but they pushed us back with only two men. One was an amazing shot with a blaster, but the other guy… He had this blue sword, looked like it was made out of pure energy. He hit back every shot we fired at him. Every bolt he just sent back right at us. We didn't stand a chance."

"That sounds a lot like what people say the Jedi used to wield. You think it was a Jedi?"

"I don't know, I don't care and if you were me, you'd pray this guy isn't part of the ones who almost overthrew the Old Republic and tried to kill the Emperor."

With that, the Stormtrooper stormed off, followed closely by his partner who wanted to know more about the mystery Jedi of Tattooine.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard as he reflected over what he'd heard. It had been reckless of him to display his lightsaber so prominently in front of Imperials. Tactically, it was best that his existence always remain uncertain in the eyes of the Empire. Not just for his safety and that of his allies, but also for all the Jedi who were still in hiding. The Emperor was extremely paranoid. If he caught wind of a Jedi Master having survived his purge, it wouldn't be farfetched to imagine he'd restart the Jedi hunt, putting those who had not yet been found in jeopardy.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan muttered to himself somberly.

Once he was sure the coast was clear, Obi-Wan made his way towards the hangar where the Faulcon was docked. Towards the looming, evil presence that was drawing closer.

Luke was anxiously leading the small group and Chewie was bringing up the rear. They had somehow escaped their pursuers and were diligently following C3-PO's directions to get back to the Millennium Faulcon. At least that's what Luke was trying to do, but it was hard to follow when the two who made up the middle of the pack were at each other's throats.

"Look princess the only orders I follow are my own," Han warned as he tried to get Leia to look at him, but she kept marching forward without sparing him a glance. "I certainly wouldn't listen to a high-bred, pompous, prissy and whiney aristocrat such as yourself."

Chewie gave Han a warning growl which Luke entirely agreed with because the look on Leia's face when she stopped and turned to Han was one of pure outrage, anger and disgust.

"Why you insufferable blockhead," the princess snapped back. "Let me remind you it was your moronic plan that landed us in this mess. If you'd had the foresight to actually come up with a strategy to get us out, we would already be safely off this infernal battle station."

Han couldn't fathom the fiery personality this woman was displaying. When Luke had said "princess", he'd expected a dainty and delicate girl who'd crumble in his arms, whom he'd have to carry to the Faulcon. Leia was nothing like that. She was beautiful without seeming to put much effort into looking pretty. Proud without being conceited. And had to be a vicious politician considering the strength of her temperament.

Some girl… Han reflected silently.

The smuggler quickly snapped out of his reverie. It didn't matter if he was impressed, he wasn't going to let himself be stepped on by someone who had no idea what the harshness of the real world was like. He needed to end this…

"Look princess the reason we rescued you the way we did was because the kid insisted we do it," Hand said slyly, pointing a finger towards Luke who looked back at him with a warning in his eyes which Han ignored. "Luke, here, heard that you were being scheduled for termination so he hassled me and Chewie to come rescue you. I didn't even care, he only got me to come because he said you would make it worth my while. And Luke's the one who came up with both the plan to break you out and to get us out of that death trap. If you want to spite someone, he's your guy."

Han snuck a lopsided smirk at Luke who straightened his robes uncomfortably as Leia turned her gaze on him. Although to both his and Han's surprise, there was no violent rebuke. There was just silence as her brown eyes locked with Luke's blue ones and quickly broke away to look him over with a calculating gaze.

After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Leia stepped towards Luke, reached out a slim, manicured hand and gave him a sharp tap on his forehead.

"That was a foolish thing to do, rushing to rescue me without a plan," she said in a kind and gentle tone, completely different from how she'd spoken to Han a second ago. "But I do thank you for caring enough about my wellbeing to risk your life to save me. Unlike others…." she added, staring pointedly at Han who shrugged and pretended to check his gun's ammo.

Luke was completely speechless. He couldn't believe a princess, a member of royalty, was praising him with such geniality and sincerity. He felt a strange sort of connection with her in that moment. It reminded Luke of when he'd practiced lightsaber skills on the Faulcon and had had a moment of absolute clarity and calmness where he was able to sense the path of the remote. Is the Force trying to tell me something? Luke wondered.

"I only did what I thought was right your highness," Luke replied shyly, unable to look her straight in the eye. "When someone is in trouble and you have the power to help them, it's your duty to do so."

Luke felt a hand on his shoulder and as he raised his head, the princess had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

"My father taught me something similar Luke," she said. "If we get out of this alive, I'd like to personally ask you to join the Rebellion. You're quick-witted and good in a fight, but most importantly, your heart is in the right place."

Luke had to fight the redness he could feel spreading on his cheeks. He forced himself to hold the princess's gaze and steadied his voice.

"You honor me your highness," Luke replied with a slight bow. "I can't give you an answer just yet, I want to discuss it with my… master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I value his opinion."

"You are fortunate to have met him," Leia said with a smile. "I have not seen him myself. All I've heard are stories and tales from my father. He was one of the greatest Jedi generals during the Clone Wars, nicknamed 'The Negotiator'. He mastered the art of diplomacy even more so than the art of war."

"I am incredibly grateful that he chose me to accompany him. You will get to see him soon your highness, he must be heading back to our ship."

"That's good. And please, enough with 'your highness'. Call me Leia."

Luke nodded with a smile and the two shared a moment of silence which was briefly interrupted by Han clearing his voice, followed by an exasperated whistle.

"All right love-birds, can we get back to escaping or do we want to wait for the Empire's maintenance crew to find us?"

Leia rolled her eyes and turned a disdainful eye towards Han.

"Don't worry Captain Solo, I know you are only too eager to be rid of my company. As am I."

With that, Leia stormed down the corridor, forcing everyone to run to catch up to her.

"You want to slow down your worshipfulness?" Han asked sardonically. "We have no idea what could be around… LOOK OUT!"

Han quickly pulled Leia back around the corner just as a barrage of laser fire impacted right where she'd been a second ago. Before she could blink, Leia was sandwiched between the wall and Han's chest as he fired off shots from around the corner.

Leia was beyond embarrassed. She'd let her guard down and had made a fool of herself in front of this man. She could feel she wouldn't hear the end of it from him. When Han finally pushed off of her, Leia was ready for his sharp-tongued critic, but it never came.

"Stay with Luke. I'll take care of this" Han whispered, a glint in his brown eyes that matched her own.

Before she could reply, Han ran around the corner with a crazed yell, firing wildly at the retreating Stormtroopers. Chewie quickly followed him, letting out a menacing growl. Luke and Leia watched in awe as the duo chased down the Stormtroopers and disappeared down a corridor, leaving only the sound of blaster fire and Wookie snarls.

"He certainly has courage." Leia muttered to Luke.

"What good does it do us if he gets himself killed," Luke said resignedly. "Come on."

Luke grabbed Leia's hand and they both ran in the opposite direction Han had taken off in, hoping his distraction would prevent them from running into any more Stormtroopers before they reached the hanger.

Obi-Wan knew the Faulcon was close. Unfortunately, he sensed his former apprentice was closer. Obi-Wan removed his lightsaber from his belt and cautiously started to make his way towards the familiar, yet somehow foreign, Force signature. He progressively lowered the shields around his Force presence to keep Vader's attention on him instead of on Luke and the others.

And finally, after being separated for nearly two decades, Obi-Wan came face to face with Darth Vader, his former apprentice. His black silhouette almost made him disappear against the walls of the Death Star. Obi-Wan found it hard to believe that this being in front of him had once been a scrappy boy with a strange haircut who loved pod racing. What has become of us, indeed, Obi-Wan lamented silently.

Obi-Wan refocused his mind on his foe who ignited his red lightsaber, the weapon of the Sith. The old Jedi ignited his own blue saber, holding it loosely in his hand instead of dropping immediately into a fighting stance. This would be a battle of minds, before a battle of strength.

While Obi-Wan had years of training over his former apprentice, he was unfortunately limited physically. Vader, while also no longer in his prime, was physically enhanced with bionics as well as being the Chosen One, which granted him unparalleled raw strength in combat. However, if studying under master Yoda for many years had taught him anything, it was that true strength did not come from the one who was most physically imposing.

Obi-Wan's advantage was who he was: Vader's former master, the one who'd made him who he was and the man he had to defeat to prove he was superior. Obi-Wan needed to use that to push his opponent to make a mistake.

"I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan," Vader said evenly, his voice a garbled cross between man and machine. "We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master."

Obi-Wan was heart-broken at hearing these words. That voice was unrecognizable from Anakin Skywalker's. Was his former apprentice truly gone? Was there nothing left of Darth Vader that could be saved? Obi-Wan silently pushed down his sorrow and regarded his opponent with a cold gaze.

"Only a master of evil Darth." Obi-Wan said coolly before swinging his lightsaber towards Vader's head which the Sith Lord blocked easily. He parried two more strikes from his former master before swiftly going on the offensive.

Obi-Wan was able to parry the next couple of strikes but only barely. Vader's cybernetic implants meant his swings carried much more force than those of an average human. Each time Obi-Wan blocked, he could feel the vibration from the blow travel up into his hands. He needed to give himself some space.

Obi-Wan side stepped one of Vader's swings which cut into the wall behind him and took several steps back to keep his enemy at bay with the end of his lightsaber.

"Your powers are weak old man." Vader taunted as he looked for an opening in Obi-Wan's defenses.

Dear boy, your notion of power is frightfully limited, Obi-Wan thought regretfully.

"You can't win Darth," Obi-Wan replied calmly, keeping his eyes locked on the lenses of Vader's helmet. "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

When their swords clashed again, Obi-Wan could sense something was different. Vader was getting losing control. His strikes had lost some precision and were replaced with hate fueled haymakers.

Their blades crossed and they pushed against each other, trying to take their opponent off balance. Finally, Obi-Wan couldn't match Vader strength and deftly moved away, out of reach.

"You should not have come back." Vader said slowly, his rage clear in every word he spoke.

In the corner of his mind, Obi-Wan could sense that Luke and the others were almost at the ship. He needed to direct the fighting towards the hangar if he wanted a chance to make it out alive, or failing that, be able to assure the others escaped.

Making sure to keep Vader at a distance with his lightsaber, Obi-Wan started to progressively back up towards the Millennium Faulcon's hangar.

Luke and Leia met up with Han and Chewie only a couple feet away from the Faulcon. The smuggler and the Wookie looked seriously out of breath but it was something Luke couldn't comment on since he and Leia had experienced quite the chase themselves. Good thing I checked where that grappling hook was, Luke reflected silently.

Leia slid in next to Han who didn't spare them a glance, his eyes riveted on his prized ship.

"What kept you?" the smuggler asked.

"We ran into some old friends." Leia replied distractedly as she examined the ship they were supposed to escape on. Considering the nature of its captain she shouldn't have been surprised at the state of the vessel. It looked like a madman had designed it.

"Is the ship alright?" Luke asked, worried about Obi-Wan and if he'd make it back to the Faulcon all right. Although, their situation was equally precarious since there was a whole squad of Stormtroopers right in front of the ship's boarding ramp.

"Seems okay if we can get to it," Han muttered. "I just hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission."

As Han finished his sentence, the group of Stormtroopers guarding the Faulcon all suddenly left their post at the same time, leaving the entrance to the Faulcon wide open.

"Now's our chance. GO!" Han urged.

Luke went first, followed by Leia, towards the Faulcon where they saw C3-PO and R2-D2 also making their way to the ship. Luke was about to climb the boarding ramp when out of the corner of his eye he saw where the squad of Stormtroopers had gone.

They had their guns tracked on two men who were locked in an intense lightsaber duel. One wasn't even really a man. He was a tall figure encased in dark armor with a flowing black cape and a sinister looking mask. His opponent however, Luke recognized. BEN!

Luke moved several steps, stopping before a large drop that was supposed to be for a cargo elevator. Several meters away, Luke could tell that Obi-Wan's chances looked grim. He had a cut on his shoulder that was leaking blood onto his brown cloak. Even if he somehow defeated his opponent, he still had the Stormtroopers to deal with. What could he have planned? Luke wondered.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan's eyes crossed Luke's and a wave of relief passed over the old man's features, a slight smile appearing at his lips. Luke returned a small smile but it quickly turned to horror as Obi-Wan gave an imperceptible nod and held his lightsaber in front of him in a salute, leaving himself completely defenseless.

No! No Ben, don't do it. I need your help!

The Force will be you, Luke. Always.

Obi-Wan's voice echoed in Luke's head like he was right next to him and Luke felt something brewing in the pit of his stomach, like a volcano about to erupt. Luke saw the red lightsaber coming down towards Obi-Wan, moments away from delivering the killing blow and Luke was powerless to do anything…

"NOOOOOO!"

Luke's scream echoed across the hangar and his outstretched hand let out a violent Force wave that knocked the Stormtroopers to the ground and pushed Vader back several feet before he could brace himself.

For a couple seconds there was absolute silence, as the people still conscious tried to understand what had just happened, but in Obi-Wan's knew instantly. Luke had called upon his intimated connection to the Force which he'd received from his father, who was also starting to piece together what had happened.

Obi-Wan could sense Vader's hatred towards him grow even more for having disguised his own son from him but he could sense that hate was also partly directed towards the man who'd made him believe his children had died at birth.

Obi-Wan was the first to start moving again. He quickly ran to the other side of the blast doors from Vader, as the Sith Lord got to his feet. Obi-Wan locked eyes with his old apprentice and gave a slight nod.

"There IS still good in you, Anakin. May the Force be with you."

And with that, the old Jedi closed the blast doors between them and destroyed its control panel. He then quickly made his way towards Luke who met him at the base of the Faulcon and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I thought you were gone." Luke said, relieved.

"Yes, well, it seems the Force has willed it otherwise." Obi-Wan replied, observing Luke with a knowing smile.

"Hey old man!" Han's voice echoed from inside the ship. "Why don't you save the heartfelt get together for after we've escaped the Empire."

Both Luke and Obi-Wan smiled at Han's antiques and made their way inside the Millennium Faulcon.

A couple seconds later, they were back in the large expanse of space, the Death Star getting progressively smaller behind them.