Author's note: Okay, allow me to clear this up: Vader is not turning back from the Dark Side, nor does he have any plans to do so anytime soon. It's just knowing he would have tortured the remnant of Padmé after living in years of remorse over losing her, Leia's own trauma, and his grandson's death... it spooks the hell out of him. The most highlighting part of the scene with Vader and Sidious in Empire Strikes Back is where Vader responds that Luke is just a boy and that Obi-Wan can no longer help him. When you first hear it, it sounds like the stereotypical villain arrogantly underestimating the hero. But with the lore and context of who Vader was, he was trying to manipulate Palpatine to avert pain from Luke. In this story, he knows manipulating or converting Luke and Leia is nigh impossible now. Luke wouldn't stand for it. The best way to protect both, since they won't have any interest in joining the Dark Side, is to have them with him. Same goal, different circumstances.
Why did Vader remove the suit? Well, there are multiple reasons: because Leia is more likely to acknowledge him in that state, and he's less likely to get attention; but mainly, Vader doesn't want to be in a position where the Emperor could deactivate his suit, nor risk it collapsing on him within a decade or so as technology advances in the Star Wars universe. Keeping the suit on, aside from being intimidating and torturing himself, only elevates the still emotionally compromised Luke's fears that he will drop dead again since I'm following Lucas's explanation that the suit was a ticking time bomb. I myself love the Dad Vader's genre fics with things like this. No whitewashing, no pretending Vader did nothing wrong, no "Darth Vader magically becomes Anakin again and everyone disappear into the sunset". Just because Vader is reclaiming his human form (and removing the bond with Sidious) doesn't magically make him Anakin Skywalker again.
Feel free to join my Discord server: . disc ord. gg /3b3B xdHQKG (delete the spaces). You can talk about whatever you want in there. SW and RDR channels are in there as well.
Chapter 9
It was mysterious, without the bond to the Emperor. One thing to describe it would be... silent. He had never realized the noise until it was gone, that there had been chains. The discriminatory nature of their connection; the bond being an oily mechanism that bound him to the Emperor; a dark canticle constructed by being in close proximity with a creature like the Emperor. He wouldn't say it was entirely direct; the influence. It tied deeper than Skywalker's bond with Kenobi, though that was not a good thing. It had made Vader... unable and unwilling to raise his sword against the Emperor, even if he'd been struck by a motivation to do so. A sickening disease that went deep.
What that 'label' was... followed by exhilaration. It wasn't exactly a compulsion, which could be vehement or persistent, but it sought many responses and acts. It made them more attractive for him to decide but did not manipulate him to do so. It was a movement of nerve receptors to release vexation and anger. He could never say the Emperor had coerced him to make decisions with this... just subtly make it feel right, and Vader went and did it on his own fruition like a brute animal. He had the will to think for himself, but many subtle advancements always drew him back to the Emperor.
After the bond had been removed, Vader passed out yet again.
He had been struck by a newfound clarity.
It was horrifyingly calculative, anyone Sidious formed a bond with, bond or otherwise, would be moderately influenced by him. It was just Sidious rooting away the most positive qualities from them and feeding off their suffering. It made Vader wonder. It was highly unlikely that Sidious controlled the entire Empire this way. No, that was too much of a risk, but it could bind any who wished to disobey him for their strengths.
It was also a reminder, a reminder that had always festered, that Sidious could always adapt even in complacency. He thought he had already been enslaved by Sidious far enough. As far as any threat who was able to stand against him, Sidious would always have another plan. It was another reminder of how much danger his children were in.
How he hadn't had much of a choice.
To target him in his moment of vulnerability, Sidious gave a doleful tug, and Vader swore that the Emperor would pay the price for his lack of vision. Without that medical abomination, his connection with the Dark Side of the Force hadn't been diminished but amplified in strength and power.
To Vader, it was odd-their magnanimity, too, given that the Rebel Alliance built an outpost here that the Galactic Empire eventually raided, but the locals were unmolested during this time.
Vader knew not to trust anyone. That comprehension may have to be alternated with the unexpected arrival of Luke.
He sensed Luke's genuine concern and apprehension for him, even now. On the other hand, Vader remained quiet. His son's conviction in him reminded him all too much of Padmé on Mustafar when she'd begged Skywalker to turn from his path. Was that why Vader had been unable to deliver any threat the Dark Side provided him with? His beloved...
The one person Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader wanted to mutually protect.
His secret bank account on Aargau has proven to be most useful at a most unexpected expense.
Synthetic lungs replaced the barely functional ones, perhaps giving him decades or more to live. Similarly, with synthskin. The medical droids had rebuilt the cartilage of his outer ears, but his eardrums had melted beyond repair in Mustafar's heat. Sound waves had to be transmitted directly to implants in his inner ear. To his actual surprise, even that had been amended by the Kallidahins, fixing his ears.
Physically speaking, he appeared to be organically human, while being a cyborg within.
An icy chill passed through the room.
He trembled, realizing with a start his body was devoid of clothes. Not just his face, but his entire body. His mechanical arms and legs appeared to be more flexible, now replaced with contemporary prosthetics. He had been separated from his son throughout the whole process.
For the first time in decades, Darth Vader took an actual breath without his suit or meditation chamber.
He couldn't remember if he'd felt this... this free since Mustafar.
While it should be startling that no longer did he have to draw on the Dark Side to sustain his livability, the experience was both enlightening and different, breathing in and out without discerning that mechanical sound that had plagued him in every waking moment. For a moment, he was certain that it was only a dream, that this would all be transpired as another cruel nightmare.
But he felt it through the Force. Everything was legitimate, and his scarred face broke out into a small smile. The extraction of the suit would give Vader more chances. The Emperor's multiple weaknesses in the suit would no longer be consequential.
While the Kallidahins had been unable to completely cure the worst of the scars across his entire body, a good number of them have been properly treated. This had given his skin a complexion pale as bone with a few sharp white lines – the spots where the absolute worst of the maiming had occurred - conjoining his head.
He looked up to the nearby mirror to examine his face. His eyes narrowed. Excluding the scarring, Vader resembled Anakin Skywalker more than ever.
His son's gentle presence passed through the Force, soothing him of the darker temptations and urges, an odd sigh of relief exiting his nose.
"You're awake."
At the sound of the passive voice, Vader turned to glare holes into the Kallidahin. He couldn't discern what gender each of them was by appearance alone, but through the Force, he could sense this was of a female classification. She stood, her eyes observing the small analysis system set up.
"Speak abjectly so you do not strain your vocal cords again. They are vulnerable right now. I want to ask if you are satisfied with the results.
Ah, sentimentality. What a shame it was nugatory.
"It's acceptable," Vader retorted bitingly.
The Kallidahin said, "We are doing our service to the galaxy. I have to say, sir, respectfully..."
"What?"
"Well..."
Not too long ago, Vader would have strangled the disposable worm for her no longer being a necessity. However, that idea was strangely no longer appealing. Not only would it risk his son's ire, but he had been able to think far more clearly for the first time in years.
"Speak coherently or leave my sight," he commanded.
The Kallidahin eventually answered. "Respectfully, your suit was a medical abomination! It was programmed with so many weaknesses and faulty networks. Who put it together?"
"That is none of your concern." Even though Vader acknowledged that too. The Emperor saw Vader as a failure and wanted to torture him, so he made Vader a suit that would make him feel pain constantly.
Another enlightenment flashed over him. Sidious and Vader were both anomalous, and even when going by their own code, one could easily dismiss them as dissidents and heretics. Tyranus, on the other hand, was a very different type of Master from his fall up until Sidious betrayed him. Now in hindsight, Vader realized that Dooku and Hego Damask were much more rational, negotiable, and closer to the Sith ideal, compared to either Sidious or himself. That also spelled predictable tragic results for both, thanks to the Emperor being who he was.
"How long was I asleep for?" Vader demanded.
"Ten hours, forty-two minutes, and eleven point zero five seconds," the Polis Massan replied. "Your recovery rate is remarkable in itself, as any normal member of the human species would have required far longer to do so. Robes have been arrange for you."
Vader recollected all of his previous injuries. His extreme connection to the Force since birth had always permitted him to recover at a far quicker rate than other humans.
"What else do you have left to say?" Vader demanded, not in the mood for games.
"...Our doctors were wondering if they could extract a sample of your blood for analysis."
"No. Bring my son to me now," Vader demanded, but the voice didn't come out as a deep baritone that it was supposed to be intended for. His voice was borderline a rasp, much to his humiliation. That would have to be rectified shortly.
The woman took it in stride, smiling and shrugging. "Can't blame me for trying."
Torn between punishing her for her lack of immediate cooperation, Vader resisted the urge to eliminate her. The Dark Side of the Force beckoned him to do it, but he had long ago understood what the Dark Side did to those who were compromised.
'She is of no use to you. You can-'
Vader felt the whisper course and shoved it aside.
What use did he have to eliminate someone who served as a convenient asset?
Disdain flared across his face.
He'd suddenly recognized it was the beast Sidious and the Jedi made him be that gave him that 'itch' to lash out.
Never again, Vader would be the mindless beast. He'd found Revan and Plagueis's ideology a lot more tempting all of a sudden.
Besides, the likelihood of someone as much of a nuisance, if not worse, substituting her was high.
Despite his years as a Grandmaster, Luke still felt the familiar anxiety creeping up his system. The Yuuzhan Vong War had taught him that anything could happen, even with the Force. It was a reason why Luke adopted the pro-militarization stance afterward, despite his small protests.
In hindsight, it was something he should have done years ago.
His thoughts were cut short when the doctor came and informed him that his father had made a full recovery with minimum complications.
It shamed him that his father wouldn't turn away from the Dark Side. He wanted to reach the man he knew was under there, but it had not yet been possible. It might never be entirely. His father's struggles would have been far from over if he'd survived Endor.
When he walked in, he spotted Vader standing up, fully energized. The doctors informed them that Vader would have to stay here one more day to make sure his body was functional before they could depart, something neither minded.
Now, Vader was wearing actual robes. He made an imposing figure as he stood in front of him: tall, domineering, clean-shaven, the makings of hair beginning to grow. He wore a black shirt with black pants, his black boots pragmatic. The clothes of a simple man. Ironically, more symbolic of a navigator on a spice freighter.
His eyes were an ever-penetrating shade of golden-orange, enclosed in red.
Luke looked at him. This wasn't a Force Ghost but the actual man, barring the golden eyes.
"Father..."
"Luke..." Vader said, his voice fragile and almost juvenile. "Son..."
He looked at his eyes and grimaced slightly, reminded of what was happening here. No longer would the galaxy have to fear Darth Vader for another four years, but there were still many obstacles and moral sacrifices would have to be made in this coming war anyhow.
"They disturb you," Vader noted, solemnly.
Luke didn't say anything. But Vader took the silence as an affirmation. He closed his eyes and dug into the Force. After a few seconds, his eyes converted to their healthy blue ones. Even scarred, Vader resembled Leia more than Luke with that familiar chin, those eyebrows, his skin tone...
And suddenly, he was transported forward in an alternative timeline yet again, his vision blurring.
A different event, a claustrophobic one...
Luke was slightly older-clad in his dark black robes. The older's face, guilty, blue eyes softened as he lay, collapsed on the ramp of an Imperial shuttle, the corruption of the Dark Side no longer plaguing him.
'No, you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you.'
'You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister, you were right.'
The vision blurred back into one, those remorseful and repentant blue eyes fading away.
His heart clenched.
"You are thinking about Anakin Skywalker," Vader said slowly, dull anger in his tone. "Just because it happen once doesn't mean it will happen again, my son." He didn't sound exuberant or victorious, just matter of fact.
"Nevertheless, I will never stop loving you," Luke admitted lowly.
"Love is a weakness. You should know that." His voice dropped even lower.
Luke sighed slightly, the youthful part of him wishing that things could have been different, but he knew that Vader would remain by his side no matter what.
"...Have you felt him?" Luke asked softly.
Vader closed his eyes, delving into the now-empty space that was once Darth Sidious's presence. "...No," he admitted, as expected, but it still relieved Luke.
While Luke had severed the bond and freed his father, what he also did was implement a barrier that would make it nigh impossible for the Emperor or anyone powerful with the Dark Side to penetrate his mind yet again. It would be removed when his father was mentally in the correct mind and much more stable than he was now. The Emperor had utilized that type of method with Mara Jade and all covertly trained assassins, but it was due to the many times he had attempted to force himself on the Sith that he had discovered the mechanics of how it operated. To a certain point, Vader had felt compelled to follow his commands more than was realistic, but if he attempted to do so (meaning if it concerned a loved one), he had been able to summon up enough strength against that barrier through time.
Mending the damage wasn't too difficult. It required halfheartedly using an ability that Bastila Shan used on the Dark Lord, Revan, but with a twist. That was meant to secure his life. This was meant to protect Vader.
Yet, Luke knew the fewer ties that Vader had to Darth Sidious, and the more with his family, the better it was for everyone involved.
"Are Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun still alive?" His father asked, a surprising amount of concern in his voice.
The time traveler reached out to the Force. He hadn't been keeping an eye out on them for a while. Owen and Beru's presences were still active now. In their hearts lay nothing but love, parental protection, and many other emotions. Their bond transcended so far and deep that it touched a part of Luke.
He opened his eyes and nodded with a smile. "Yes," he confirmed, the sense of relief washing over him. He didn't realize what he had with them until they were long gone. Yet, he was embraced by the feeling of affection for another. It was thanks to Vader for calling back those Stormtroopers who claimed their lives the first time. "Thanks..."
Those still intense cerulean eyes stared back with borderline envy. "They mean a lot to you?"
"Yes," Luke confirmed again, idle misery and dejection filling him. "When I was younger, I never considered how much I should have appreciated them. But when they were gone, it was..." his heart ached. Even though he'd saved them, he still felt like they were dead. They have been for over thirty years.
"Your grandmother's death affected Skywalker similarly." That was the closest to an admission that Vader would admit at this time: Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were the same person. An emotional wound left bottling for years was wrapped around Vader, swallowed by anger...
Luke remembered the emotions of anger, hatred, rage, vengeance-the clamoring of those emotions climaxing up into one, and wondered if that was how he felt when she died to Tusken Raiders.
Luke's lips pursed. "I know you are angry with some people, but Owen and Beru weren't involved in the conspiracy. You can't blame them for what happened."
Vader's eyes darted for a moment, his pupils dilating. "If they don't try to turn you against me, I will leave them untouched."
Luke sensed his sincerity as he gripped Vader's lightsaber hilt from his belt and placed it in his hand.
Vader accepted.
A deep enervation of himself was embedded over his body. "Would you tell me about Tatooine?"
Luke nodded, knowing that Vader was at least trying to not bring more agonizing memories out to the surface. "Okay."
He fished his head for memories. He told him everything he remembered from that; his first use of the Force was when he was roughly six when he unknowingly located a lost screwdriver that was under the couch. When he and Windy Marstrap were voyaging down Beggar's Canyon in Skywalker's T-16 skyhopper in search of womp rats to bullseye. He mentioned his journeys with Biggs Darklighter, Janek Sunber, and his other friends, his close encounter with a Krayt Dragon, his countless adventures, and the amount of time he spent with Owen and Beru.
Vader's expression transitioned from attentive to borderline exasperated at the number of close calls Luke had encountered with death. Nevertheless, he listened without interruption as the words exited Luke's mouth.
He had enough sleep to operate somewhat functionally.
The entire day proceeded, with Luke eventually finishing the story, and the two milking in each other.
Tomorrow, they would leave, and truly it would be time for them to start preparing for challenges against the galaxy.