Alright, since some people with condescending attitudes lack critical thinking (especially on Net), the reason why Luke is info-dumping as much as he is is because do you believe Luke wants to allow Vader to cause terror and destruction? Ultimately, Luke had no choice. Either tell Vader (and Owen and Beru by association) the truth, leave Vader to serve the Emperor for four more years, or Vader will start asking questions about how Luke knows so much very quickly, and eventually, it will come out. Owen and Beru wouldn't have allowed Luke to leave Tatooine. Even without the Force being a factor, imagine if someone approaches you and knows things about you that NO ONE should, that would freak you out on the best of terms. HFTF!Luke is alone in his journey. This Luke is reliving events he has already seen before or similar. He has more supportive people with him.

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 11

Luke registered the form of Ben alive, remembering his last words, his distinct chuckle of amusement, and the gravity that flared off of him for one last time. It took everything within him not to run up and hug him, for no matter his flaws and deceptions, he'd missed Obi-Wan.

'Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new.'

Those thirteen words still tore at a pain in his heart even after all of these years. Damn...

Luke's inward conflict was cut short.

In a scene replaying the past, Darth Vader stepped forward, lightsaber poised. "I have been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the Master."

"Only a Master of evil, Darth," Kenobi snapped back, thrusting his blade forward, which Vader caught.

"Enough!" Luke raised his hand in the air, bringing their lightsabers into his hands, including his father's old blue one, keeping them across from each other, unharmed.

He knew that he had many words planned for both.

Vader for the obvious reasons. While he'd forgiven Obi-Wan for all of his lies, he still had to get into his head about why deceiving not only him but his sister could have gone wrong in so many ways. For years, the two couldn't interact without some form of awkwardness built up, knowing that they kissed on Hoth, containing romantic feelings that could have led to whole other problems.

"The choice was my own and I take accountability for it," Luke stated honestly.

Ben's eyes were still sharp. "Luke! What happened?"

"It was the Will of the Force that I go after the Princess," Luke answered stoically, not beating around the bush.

Ben stiffened, not expecting this answer, "What do you know about the Will of the Force, Luke?"

"The Force has shown me what I needed to know, Obi-Wan," the time traveler Jedi Master replied ominously.

"Luke? What are you talking about?"

"I have seen the future," he dropped the bombshell, not knowing how to explain the issue he had this time...

"That's impossible!" Leia exclaimed from behind him.

"Nothing is impossible with the Force, Your Majesty," Luke smirked.

Owen and Beru shifted uncomfortably, while Ben's face paled, his hands clenching.

He regained his composure after a few seconds and responded carefully, "You know the truth then?" Ben eyed his sister, and then Vader, for a moment.

Luke nodded. "Yes, I know the truth. I know about Padmé Amidala being a mother. I know about it all."

While the older man was processing what was being told him, Luke stared at the others standing by. "Leave, I have much to discuss with both privately." Obviously reluctant, Luke held their stare with his own. "We'll be fine."

The three walked inside with the two droids following behind.

"Now, we need to discuss this."

Ben heaved a sigh. "Luke, I did what I had to do for your protection. You must understan-"

"That I do not doubt," Luke replied placidly. He'd face the harsh truth a long time ago. Obi-Wan didn't care about him. He wanted to protect him but that was only because the Jedi wanted to destroy the Empire. Though, he knew deep down that Vader would never harm his children. He had proven to him. Perhaps he would be possessive, but never abusive.

Vader was obsessed with his mother and wanted to bring her back for years. If he met his children, knowing who he was, could someone really believe that Vader would torture that remnant? At the risk of them dying or hating him, when he would want their loyalty and for them to see him as their father?

"...Then stand with me. We have to stop him, Luke."

Vader loomed like a giant, his teeth gritted together. "He lies, Luke, he'll only destroy you as he did Anakin Skywalker. Step aside. Let me protect you. We don't need him."

"Father, that isn't necessary. I can protect myself. You're doing this because you're seeking revenge."

He turned back to Obi-Wan.

"Are you angry, Luke?" He asked with some form of idle disappointment.

"I had enough time to recover from it, Ben," Luke deflected momentarily, "but I will be deceiving you if I told you I approved of what you and Master Yoda did. That's not what a Jedi does, Ben. A Jedi is supposed to be charismatic and never give up. Jedi don't raise children to kill people."

Ben shifted slightly, obviously uncomfortable with Luke's tone. His eyes widened at the brief mention of his old friend.

"That said, I do understand what he did was wrong. At the end of the day, he had a choice, and he chose the Dark Side." Luke continued resolutely.

"Son..." Vader gasped, his eyes wide with hurt, before anger.

Vader, very evidently, still wanted to charge forward. Kenobi did as well. The tension between the two men was high. But Luke stood as the rock that would stop a tragedy from occurring yet again.

And they both needed to hear this.

The air could have been cut through with a knife.

"I understand he previously slaughtered your friends and family in the Jedi Temple. What he did was far from justifiable, but there's context to the situation. Obi-Wan; you were his father. It's not as if you just picked him off the streets and trained him. You taught him. You know him. So yes. You absolutely should have been trying to help him or at the very least come to an understanding. Enabling his toxic relationship with Chancellor Palpatine wasn't the solution either." Try as he might, it was hard for him to not allow the agitation and anger to lash out at what the Jedi did to his father by involvement. He was his father. Even being a Jedi Grandmaster didn't mean Luke was an unfeeling God. Anakin should have never been a part of that Order.

"He slaughtered them all, Luke! He's more machine now than man! Twisted and evil. What we did was wrong, but he murdered children, Luke." Kenobi paused and shouted. "I couldn't kill him, Luke! He was my brother!"

"To me, that sounds more like an excuse." Luke said, allowing sympathy to leak off of him. "This is NOT justifying his previous murders, but killing him after he was burnt alive would have been the Jedi Way. Walking down the hill and stabbing him in the chest would have taken only a few seconds, or bringing him up with the Force and doing likewise could have been the way to secure the threat."

"The good man he was..." He swallowed and corrected himself, "he was a good man before the Dark Side claimed him. What could I've done, Obi-Wan?"

"At that moment, Ben, you were not acting like a Jedi. You, nor Yoda, weren't able to accept what happened. Acceptance is a natural part of life, and especially of being a Jedi. True Jedi learn to eventually accept what happened and move on. No, he wasn't a true Jedi when he killed those innocents in the Temple, but you are supposed to maintain the moral high ground as a Jedi. That is very different from forgiveness. It's accepting that you can't change the past and dwelling on it, obsessing over it changes absolutely nothing. This goes for you too." He looked at his father for a moment. "Instead, you did something that was inherently barbaric. There's no doubt in my mind that you loved him, but at this time, you were blinded by your emotions, and that never changed even now when you have already manipulated two children."

"I... I had to... but..." Obi-Wan struggled over his words as if struck.

Luke felt no satisfaction at the verbal victory. He did not doubt that Vader and Obi-Wan had been obsessing over one another for years. It was a tragedy if truth be told. While Vader's massacre of the Temple was horrendous and monstrous, Obi-Wan should have never left him alive when it was clear that he was going to live in pain and suffering. Moreover, the Emperor had manipulated his father since the age of nine, playing him for a fool, boosting his ego, and painting his interpretation in false lights.

No matter how one put it, that wasn't a nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker's fault.

"Obi-Wan, I know he would do the right thing," he declared, smiling optimistically, "he never gave up entirely."

Obi-Wan's solemn expression fell, and he spoke lowly. "One cannot turn away from the Dark Side, Luke."

"He's not Count Dooku. Before, he did. He stopped the Emperor. Most can be redeemed, but one has to take the step forward. To be ready to face their victims and take responsibility for his actions." He answered. "You kept his old lightsaber hilt as a reminder of far more peaceful times. I understand not being able to let it go, Obi-Wan. I understand that he hurt you just as you've hurt him." he persisted. "I have seen the flaws in the old Order, and I hate to say this, but if it wasn't him, it would have been someone else."

"N-no, the Jedi brought balance," Obi-Wan gasped.

"The Jedi adhered too much to the Galactic Senate, a Senate long since corrupted."

"To the Sith," Kenobi argued.

"To themselves. Obi-Wan, when the Clone Wars began, the Republic failed in its most vital obligation-to protect its member systems. Even if the Republic prevailed in the war and survived, that would have haunted it for years-centuries to come. You can blame the Sith for many things, and while I do for contributing to the Clone Wars, any war between the Core and Rim was inevitable. The Republic was a corrupting mess full of bickering delegates. It was reasonably time for something new."

"And so you think the Empire is better?!" Kenobi growled.

Luke sighed, "Obi-Wan, you're missing the point. Why do you think all of those Senators clapped when Palpatine declared the Empire? He was just a symptom in the political games and nothing could have fixed that. The Republic was always the Empire. Just because it had its mask off doesn't mean that it was any different."

"...If you came from the future," Kenobi stated carefully, obviously trying to sway conversation, "I imagine you have more training with which you could defeat the Emperor."

"And he still speaks of using you," Vader growled.

"Father," Luke said, turning around, "as I have made clear, we're not finished yet."

"Luke, why do you defend your groomer?" he asked.

"I'm going to stop both of you making a huge mistake by resolving all of this!" Luke snarled.

"LUKE! HE HAS TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME!" Vader exclaimed, pointing his index finger at Kenobi. "HE WON'T TAKE MY BLOODLINE EITHER!"

"And you took his Order from him, Father, friends and family he cared about. For over nineteen years, he'd lived in a nightmare. You won't be able to do any more damage that wouldn't be numbed to him."

"If you won't allow me to protect you, very well, I shall do so by force."

The Dark Side cheered in joy. Vader broke free and pulled the red lightsaber from Luke's hand, activating it and dashing to Obi-Wan. Luke darted even faster, gripping his father's blue lightsaber and igniting it, protecting Obi-Wan from the future fatal blow.

Betrayal flooded his yellow eyes before it became anger and rage. Anger had blinded him yet again.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Kenobi gripped his hilt from the left of Luke's hand and activated it, moving forward now, looking to land a fatal blow on his father. When he got what was to be, he sprang. Luke pushed Vader back and spun around, activating the green lightsaber now, and blocking the attack from the older man.

Luke held both lightsabers, keeping an eye on both, waiting for either to attack. The two stalked around, lightsabers positioned, but Luke followed their every move with his eyes. Vader had a predatory dark glint. Kenobi had resignation and faint anger.

The two moved, only agreeing on one thing; one of them must die. Luke's lightsabers maneuvered around, catching each of their attacks, and pushed them back.

The two swung at one another yet again. Lightsabers performing in a flurry, Luke countered each of their blows. They were increasingly getting agitated.

"Step aside, Luke," Vader snarled. "Kenobi is a coward. He will not help you."

"Killing him won't accomplish anything!" Luke hissed back.

"Luke, can't you see the danger he represents?" Obi-Wan asked in a chiding tone. "He will torture you to turn you into his pawn, and when that's done, there will be nothing left!"

"I would do no such thing," Vader growled. "You won't turn another person against me, Obi-Wan."

"Vader, you took my brother from me, destroyed the Jedi Order!" Obi-Wan shouted, stuck between little jabs and stabs. "What stops you from harming your son?!"

"Stop this! Stop this now!" Luke demanded in a tone he'd rarely used before.

The Force came to him and knocked both of them back. Kenobi regained his footing. Vader had less luck, gritting his teeth in vexation.

The two broke off, lightsabers angled.

"You have lured the Sith out and now they've come to me!" Kenobi exclaimed.

"Have you plotted to destroy me?" Vader growled. "You promised to help me, but you're with him now. You're a traitor just like your mother!"

Bloody last generations...

"No!" Luke replied. "I am stopping both of you from making a big mistake!"

"He is going to kill both of us, Luke. To Kenobi, the Sith are evil, and anyone who works with them cannot be turned. Now that you've broken free, what do you think he would do to you?" Vader snapped, sending another series of strikes which Luke deflected.

"Father, don't do this! Remember what you promise me before the death Star ."

"Fool boy," Vader growled, "you think I'm doing this only because of you? No, Kenobi won't ruin another of what is mine. He will destroy your sister. She doesn't know what you know about him, Luke..." Luke understood that the moment this started. Vader wanted vengeance against Kenobi. There was no doubt about that. But he'd also wanted to protect his children. Was it a stretch to say that Luke would have done the same for Ben had it been his son?

"He won't. We won't let him." Luke said.

Luke detected movement behind him.

He didn't allow Obi-Wan to get the drop on him. Turning to the elder Jedi Master, he caught his advancing form with both lightsabers now positioned in an "X".

This time, Kenobi was deliberately attacking, arcs growing wider and wider as he twirled faster and faster. It was almost as if Tatooine did nothing to his abilities in the adrenaline of the moment.

"I have failed you!" Kenobi exclaimed. "Like I fail all my students! I won't allow Leia to fall either!"

"How would Qui-Gon Jinn have seen this?" Luke hated to throw that card. He really did. Kenobi was stunned, promptly, at hearing the mention of his father figure. It provided an opening which Luke took, knocking him to the ground. If they did not listen to reason, Luke would have to restrain them both.

Hopefully, it would not come to that...

Luke saw his father moving up again.

"Father, come to your senses! There's no reason for this! You think killing him would bring our mother back? It won't! It would only bring more pain!" Luke attempted desperately to reach his father, who was actively calling upon the Dark Side.

"Kenobi used me! He turned your mother against me! You shouldn't be raising your blade against your own father! If he hadn't shown up on Mustafar, I would have gone with her!" Vader's teeth gritted like an animal. "There's no more time for talk!"

Kenobi had recovered his footing by now and was standing behind Luke, saber ignited, but not moving.

Vader darted, attempting to catch him yet again. Luke absorbed the blade. For kriff's sake, his father had been out of the suit for a short amount of time, but he hadn't lost any of his connection with the Force.

There was no doubt in Luke's mind that if this continued, Kenobi would have been overwhelmed within an even shorter time.

"Father, you, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi were all used. Each of you was used and discarded when you were no longer useful by one person. Palpatine. He deserves your anger."

Vader bared his teeth like fangs. "Kenobi never suffered! Every time I came to him, he disregarded me! He wouldn't have helped me save your mother!" Vader's persona broke for a moment and he'd acknowledged Anakin Skywalker's existence.

Luke's expression softened.

That gave Vader the chance he needed to knock him back with the Force. Admittedly winded, Luke took a second to recover.

Golden eyes flashing, Vader charged Kenobi again. Impressively swift, Kenobi deflected each assault and parried with a few strikes of his own. Very quickly, Kenobi took a step back with his left leg and then his right, keeping his blade up against Vader's rapid strikes, but it was obvious that his years of not engaging in combat were catching up to him, and Vader was enjoying this...

Moreover, this was a healthy version of his father, suitless, and motivated by the drive to protect his children. Now, he saw Kenobi as someone who would take them from him, giving him more of a drive to fight.

But Obi-Wan, being untrained, didn't mean he was helpless. He managed to keep injury from his person. Their lightsabers clashed, and Vader leaned in aggressively.

Luke got back to his feet and slammed them back with the Force. "I said that's enough!" This time, if he had to resort to even more of his power, he would. He couldn't allow this event to repeat itself.

"Father, Obi-Wan, let me ask you both something," Luke said, reasserting calm in this situation. The two eyed him. He had to get closer. Any other approach wasn't working.

He looked at Obi-Wan, "Who manipulated his way to the top? Who walked between the best of the Jedi and deceived them into believing he was a friend? It was a thousand-year plan. Do you believe that he wouldn't have a backup contingency to ensure that the Jedi wouldn't die in the case of his death?"

Now, he turned to Vader.

"As for you, Father, who do you think groomed, manipulated, and seduced you into darkness? Who do you think preyed upon your greatest fears and reached out to you in your moments of vulnerability? Who do you think would have tried to kill you and take your bloodline from you?"

Vader's face broke. "The Empe..." he stopped himself.

"Look what he did to Maul, Anakin," Obi-Wan enforced. "He never cared about you."

"And you did?!" Vader glared at him. "Don't act righteous, Kenobi, you still left me to burn!"

Kenobi growled, "I admitted I failed you!"

"Father, don't listen to him. Who do you think assigned those assassination attempts against Mother's life?" Luke barked. "Look at it from an outsider's perspective. Do you believe the Sith would have wanted anyone who was your weakness to live? What do you think the Emperor do to me and Leia?"

Vader's face was a pyramid of emotions. Anger, hate, rage, and... fear.

"Even though you're suffering, it doesn't automatically justify wiping out the Jedi Order. The pain can't be undone, no matter what you do. It's happened, and I know that from experience. But there's still time to make better choices. To prevent the Emperor from taking more from you."

Vader's eyes met Luke's.

Luke walked up, sensing no danger. Vader looked down at him. They were so different in height, but from Vader's perspective, his son seemed taller than him. "Father, I wouldn't leave you. You've found a reason to live now. It's too late to save my mother, but don't let another family member be lost." Luke's eyes locked onto him sharply. "You've been misusing Padmé Amidala's name for decades. Don't do it again."

Vader froze, his insides an icy cold.

"I hate to say this. Once you turn to the Dark Side, Luke, there is no turning back," Obi-Wan spoke sharply, swinging again. "It's too late for him."

Of course, Obi-Wan's feelings with Vader have been building up for years.

How quickly the positions have been reversed.

"Obi-Wan!" Luke declared as their blades locked. A simple message through the Force by Luke made sure Vader didn't intervene, though he was tempted. "Obi-Wan, you're acting out of emotion right now! Think logically!"

A tense pause passed as their lightsabers broke off. He seemed to stare into Luke.

"...Very well, if Vader doesn't attack, I'll leave." Kenobi responded with a long-suffering sigh.

Luke jolted slightly. No, he didn't want that. "Come with us. We can still repair this, Obi-Wan."

Kenobi shook his head. "I can't."

The Jedi turned around and departed. Luke was gripped by the urge to shake his shoulders and reason with him in some other way, but he knew it was ultimately Obi-Wan's choice. At least he may have saved his life.

"He may now consider you an enemy and still look at Leia as the final hope," Vader spoke dryly.

"I know..." Luke paused.

A silence passed.

"Let's head inside," Vader declared at last.