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Chapter 12

Beeping echoed from within the moment Vader entered the Homestead, followed by nudging at his legs. Eyes widening, he looked at the small droid.

"...Artoo," Vader said, and he felt a wave of sadness fall over him.

Vader almost instinctively placed his hand on his dome, stopping short when he looked up to see another face from his past.

"Ah, greetings! I am See-Threepio, Human Cyborg-"

"Threepio," Vader interrupted.

"They belonged to you and mother," Luke supplemented.

Vader nodded. "Indeed, your mother and I shared the belief that droids are sentimental value and exchanged them at the best of times."

He realized that both droids were no longer his and decided to discard them, hearing Artoo's sad beeping merely.

Luke's heart caught in his chest as his father walked away from Artoo and he looked at him. "I'm sorry, Artoo, but I promise you. We'll never give up on him."

Leia was eating in the kitchen.

Luke watched her from the shadows, taking note of her younger features. Blast, she looked like Jaina, minus his niece's resemblance to his daughter.

If Luke still had any luck, Leia wouldn't harbor much animosity toward Vader since he didn't torture her, and thus the resentment wouldn't be as keen.

Rightfully, the Princess would still want him to face trial.

She was duty-bound and believed strongly in the law. That has always been the difference between them. Luke wasn't as blind as he once was to be angry with anyone who believed their father was a monster.

Yes, it would be a long time before anyone forgave him for his crimes.

"You know, you should tell her the truth," the familiar voice of Owen Lars cut through his thoughts behind him.

It was still odd to hear that voice he hadn't heard for years.

Luke nodded. "I have been debating with myself how to break it to her. This Leia and the one who I told the truth to is a different person."

Owen smiled. "Well, you've saved her life. You already have her good will."

"That doesn't mean she wouldn't alienate us because of our genetic connection," Luke said calmly.

"Look here, I know siblings can get angry at one another, but I doubt she will leave her only brother behind. Now I won't pretend to know what that Yuunshan Bong..."

Luke shook his head with an actual grin. "Yuuzhan Vong."

Owen gave it a try at the lips before saying, "Whatever. Anyway, the war seemed to have taken a toll on you. I can see it in your eyes."

Luke grimaced. "3.65 trillion," he stated, his eyes reflecting grief and pain. "I will never forget the number."

Owen placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Luke."

Luke tried to yank his arm away from him. He didn't need comfort and reassurance, most of all not from Owen. While he and Beru got along so well that they barely got into an argument, Owen and Luke had tension since he became an adolescent—building up for years.

"I might not be able to change as much as I want to," Luke stated slowly.

"Oh, I think it does."

"What happened to you?" The question even shocked him.

"What are you talking about, Luk-" the older man started.

"What happened to you?" Luke asked. He had mentally prepared for Owen to cast him out of his life and dismiss him one final time.

Owen arched an eyebrow.

"You?" He repeated the word. "You'd always planned for me to stay and take over the moisture farm someday. Now, you are-"

"Supportive?" Owen offered in a dry but not unkind manner.

Luke threw an ashamed and sheepish glance to the ground, "Well, yes."

He sighed, "Luke, I didn't want you to stay because I wanted you to feel trapped here. I wanted you to stay because I wanted to protect you. I thought with time that you would eventually appreciate this life. I was wrong." Owen admitted, shame washing around him in waves.

"But I'm sure you didn't think I was going to become a Jedi." It was not a question.

"No, while I had different expectations and hopes for you, I most certainly did not believe you would ever hold those weapons that old man has."

"Maybe I should have," Luke said bitterly, "I failed in my obligations."

Owen paused for a lengthy second before... "I'm glad you didn't. In whatever journey you went through, you became much better than I could have ever hoped for."

Luke did a double take at that, surprised by the unexpected words.

"You remembered your own moral codes and virtues. I tried to shelter you, keep you here, but you went off to do even better things."

"But the next Harvester..." Luke began, remembering that had been one of the primary reasons Owen was upset with his desires last time. "I can help you, you know, to make sure you have enough to last another Harvester, or maybe, even three. You would never have to work again a day of your life. You and Aunt Beru."

He gritted his teeth, "I lost family before, Luke, I'm not losing you. I don't care about the next Harvesters. If you're going, I'm coming with you." he said. And he could sense that he was telling the truth.

He promised to give him aid that could make him even bigger than Jabba, give him the legacy he'd deserved... and he didn't care. He didn't know how to feel about that.

"No, it will be dangerous. You should stay here and remain out of all this."

The older man shook his head, "And risk never seeing you again?" He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him on his forehead softly. "Luke, I know it's difficult for me to show you sometimes, but I love you with all of my heart."

"No, no, I already know that," Luke nodded. "Would you have raised her too?"

Owen peeked out and looked at Leia who was still eating earnestly. A small part of Luke couldn't help a huff at her eloquence. Massive show off... "Yes, if I had known, I would have taken you both in. Predictable Kenobi being a wizard lost in the desert." He grumbled unhappily.

"He was right somewhat. The Empire might have felt it as we were young and untrained. With one another, Force Sensitive children can be traced." Luke answered, unable to fault only Obi-Wan for that, but he'd longed for a normal childhood with his sister. He'd loved Owen and Beru, but Anakin and Padmé would have rather raised him.

Kriff, it would never happen.

"Oh, of course, but it might have been a stroke of good luck." Owen laughed, beckoning him outside, which Luke followed. "She would have been more tolerable than you."

Luke looked at him for a long moment before a grin spread across his lips. "I wasn't that bad!"

"Remember when you destroyed my Skyhopper because you wanted to play games." Far from the irritated tone he pretended to take on, the man looked even amused.

Luke pretended to be affronted, "Leia once insulted another House on Alderaan a few years ago."

"Uh-huh, I still have a distinct impression that you're more of a troublemaker than her."

Luke laughed. "You don't know Leia, then." He eyed him. "But," he shrugged, '"all people deserve second chances."

"What," Owen snarked and like mostly—didn't think before he spoke, "Like you?"

"I hope so." Luke couldn't help it. He constantly asked himself, "Was this a punishment for all of his failures?" It had been confirmed that that couldn't be further from the truth. It wasn't a disaster that he was permitted an opportunity to save his family. It was not just his father, but the uncle and aunt he'd never appreciated when he started puberty.

Owen remained quiet for a second, mistaking Luke's silence for hurt. "I..." he began, "It was only a joke, Luke."

He looked at Owen, knowing where his uncle's line of thought was going, and rolled his eyes in fondness. He once again remembered how Owen held him over his shoulders and faced the setting sun. He could never be truly mad or disappointed at Owen after everything he'd been through. He could survive a few jabs from his uncle who he missed so badly.

So, Luke simply shrugged and offered him a wise smile, "Yeah, I know. Your jokes are getting weak, my dear loving Uncle. Perhaps it's your age!"

Owen laughed and shook his head in amusement and relief. "Weak?! I'll show you weak! I have you know, I still got some mighty years left!" He raised his fist in a false battle stance.

Before, they knew it, they were playing like they did years ago. For a moment, Luke could forget about all the responsibilities weighing on his shoulders. He felt like a child again, watching his uncle struggle to keep up with him.

From within the Homestead, Luke saw Beru nearby—her eyes sparkling with delight at watching her two boys repair that bridge that had fractured between them so long ago.

Leia stood up from the chair. She had been thinking about leaving here for a week now, but she had no way to do so. She knew that her time here couldn't be indefinite, however, she knew that Luke Skywalker could have been of ample support sneaking on an ISD and truthfully wanted to enlist his services.

After she met General Kenobi... for a moment, but the man seemed to be gone. She didn't know what was happening. How to feel. It was all too much.

It made her ashamed that she had to stay another night here without knowing what was going on.

"Hello," the kind woman laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Hi," Leia greeted back.

"Luke and his father want to talk to you. They're outside."

Leia frowned, but obliged nevertheless, exiting the small home to look for her rescuer and the strange man. It didn't take long for her to find them. Who was that man? And why did he feel familiar?

"I was told you wanted to speak with me?" she asked as she came next to the two men.

"Leia," Luke looked down at her petite form, "I have to make sure I'm remembering this correctly. What did the Organas tell you happened to your biological family?"

"My father told me that I was a war-child, taken off the battlefield and adopted." she said.

Luke nodded. "I see."

She leaned in, hope coming across her face. "Do you know any of them?"

If he came from the future, they must've found out something. Right?!

Luke looked at her for a long second, "Leia, I am your brother..."

What?

Oh, what type of joke was this?

Now, it was Leia's turn to stare. "Um…" she blinked, pursing her lips. "That's... not really a possibility."

The strange man, his... their father, said coldly, "If you search your feelings, you will know it to be true."

She felt that "aura" again. It told her that he had told the truth, but she didn't want to believe it. Nineteen years, her parents never told her about having a brother, but she always felt something was missing. Was this the man she needed in her life? Did that explain why her heart constantly ached for someone who didn't exist as far as she was concerned?

Leia shook her head. "Except my father wouldn't lie to me."

"That traitor is not your father," the older man glared. "A scheme to turn you against me, no doubt."

Luke glared at him now. "Let me explain it to her." He looked at her now. "After the Republic fell, Master Kenobi, Yoda, and Bail got together and tried to salvage what they had. They needed to keep us apart. For a long time, due to our high Force potential, that was what everyone was banking on. As a result, our survival was maximized. Bail Organa was a very safe keeper for us, but nothing is ever foolproof. He did speak to the Emperor regularly, and you are in the open with quite a high profile. If something went wrong, and the Emperor found out the truth about either of us, he would capture. There would be no backup, and everything would be lost."

Damn, the plan was... perfect. He was clever. When she didn't say anything, Luke took it as an invitation to say more.

"Leia," he continued. "There's more."

Leia placed a hand on her forehead and couldn't help but add sarcastically. "Oh, don't tell me I have another long-lost relative."

Luke smirked. "Unfortunately, we don't get what we want in life." He paused, a shadow crossing his face. "Leia, Vader will not be haunting the Rebellion anymore. You or the galaxy won't have to fear him anymore.

For some strange reason, the man behind them scoffed.

"He won't. Why?" Leia looked at him. "Did you kill him?"

Before Luke could answer, the older man interjected."Corpses cannot interact in the same way as a sentient being, Your Highness..." The man chimed in.

The words went over her head for a moment, before it clicked.

"That means, he is..." Leia pointed to him.

"Yes," the strange... Darth Vader confirmed! "Leia, I am your father."

"Sithspit," Luke murmured, looking as if he was about to kick himself in the foot. "I told you to let me tell her," he glared at the older man.

Her father...

Vader was her father...

Luke's father.

Emotions passed through her. The first was denial. There was no way, no conceivable way she would be the daughter of one of the evilest monsters in the galaxy, barring the Emperor. She had been raised to keep a level head throughout situations of all types, but this was pushing buttons. Vader killed so many of her friends, tormented, and murdered so many innocent people.

Yet, it was the truth... she could feel it.

Her political mind took over. All she could do was look at the farmer across her and say simply, "I see."

"Believe me, I acted more dramatically when I found out the truth," Luke stated.

"Regardless," Leia stated firmly, "it changes nothing."

"It changes everything," Vader proclaimed. "I am obligated to protect you. It is unfortunate what the Organas did to you, Leia, but this is your opportunity to forsake them. To discover who your real family is."

"That will never happen," Leia denied profusely, trying not to let his words get to her.

"You must forget the past; forget your memories. Our destinies converge now. We can walk down that path together as a family."

"Only in your dreams, Vader."

Luke stared at her solemnly, "Leia, I know there's good in him."

"Luke, my father told me about what the Dark Side do to people. The Jedi was imperfect, but the Sith, and that is what Vader is, are monsters. And they're right. Who's been ruling the galaxy for this long? I have no doubt in my mind that he would have tortured me."

"I would not if I had known," Vader replied angrily.

Leia's eyes landed on him piercingly. "Oh yes, and I suppose I should believe the personal Enforcer of the Emperor who killed so many people."

"Those lives are inconsequential. They betrayed the Empire and paid the price."

"Is that not true for me or my family?"

"You're my daughter," Vader said, pointing his index finger at her as if that explained away everything.

Leia shook her head. "If I were someone else's daughter, I doubt you would have been acting like this, my Lord."

"He's trapped in the Dark Side. Vader surviving would be the best punishment possible, Leia. Most murderers commit suicide because they don't have the courage to face the families of their many victims. They don't dare to look themselves in the mirror. Self-atonement is the hardest one of all."

Vader turned his glare to Luke. "I am not trapped in anything."

She ignored him. Initially, Leia would have been lying if she didn't believe Luke was insane, but now, Luke knew too much.

Luke tried again, "Leia, last time, he had destroyed the Emperor, but he had died in one final act."

"It doesn't matter. The Rebellion would never stand for it. If Vader comes, he'll be-"

"I don't think so. The Rebellion allowed Imperial defectors before," Luke pointed out calmly.

"You're right. However, not all of them commit mass genocide daily and contributed to the rise of the Empire," she couldn't help but add with some fire. She knew Luke presented a good point. Vader deserved to face justice for all those people he'd slaughtered in the past twenty years. But that didn't mean he couldn't be of sufficient support to the Alliance.

Luke hesitated for a moment. "You can't fear him forever, Leia."

"I don't fear him," she denied, knowing it was a lie.

Luke looked at her for another lengthy second before he stared down at his belt and his left eyebrow shot up. His hand traveled to the hilt and grasped it... before he took it off and pushed it in her direction.

Leia instinctively gripped it, his cool touch sending a tremor down her spine.

"What's this?" Leia asked, frowning.

"Our father's lightsaber. Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber." Then... on reflex, her hands wrapped around its cool cylinder. "Keep it. It served it's former owner well, but this is the Will of the Force."

Leia was in awe of the ancient hilt of the Jedi. If Luke had the power to tap into the Force, so did she. Certainly, with that power, they could stop the Empire. But... if she became like Vader, fell to the Dark Side...

"With your abilities, Leia, you can help so many people."

"No, I-I can never have that power."

"The Force runs strong in our family, sister. We all have a connection to it. Turning away from him doesn't mean you're not Force Sensitive."

"I... I... don't want to end up lik-" Leia began.

"Like me?" Vader prodded harshly, the agile voice now pissing her off.

Leia tried to ignore the monster and stared at Luke before she thought of something. And when it came, she had to know... "When did you find out he was your father?"

It was possible he didn't know this entire time.

"Leia..." He creased his face as he stared at her. Luke was obviously aghast.

"When did you find out?" She repeated in a clipped tone.

He looked hesitant for a moment. His face broke, until at last, he responded. "When I was twenty-two, over thirty years ago my time."

Her calculative mind quickly did the math, and when she realized, she couldn't stop the cold feeling of rage culminating.

"Decades!?" she snarled. "You knew for decades! And you told me nothing after we first met?!" Her hands flexed into shaking fists. "That's not something you keep hidden for even this long, Luke!"

What the kriff?! For all this time since he saved her, she had been left in the dark, fed with the outcome of some sort of interruption from whatever happened to Luke!

"You never asked, nor were you ready to hear that type of information, Leia." He rebuked.

Her face became even more livid, and she shouted, pointing in the air, "Don't patronize me! You knew and you said nothing!" She looked at Vader sharply. "And then brought him here as if I have to accept him!"

"If you're done, he's saying something now," Vader added unhelpfully.

"Shut up!" Leia hissed.

Vader's eyes hardened, and even now, she couldn't stop her gut twitching nervously. It was the same look that she'd gotten many times throughout the years from Bail and Breha Organa, but sometimes the aids and even Winter once in a blue moon.

Pointing his index finger to convey his point, he spoke, each syllable harsher than the last. "Don't you ever speak that way to me again, young lady."

Leia held his stare through gritted teeth, but she couldn't stop the butterflies squirming within her chest as he looked at her. Moreover, she was... well, she couldn't recall when she'd ever felt this angry before. She was tempted to destroy something. She wanted to smash, destroy, scream, do something! She settled for marching back and forth, attempting to calm her rage. She knew somewhere inside of her that this wasn't the mature thing to do. It was not how a Princess was supposed to act. But, right now, she didn't care!

He wasn't, couldn't be the only one! His alternate had to have learned the truth from someone. Why would Luke lie to her like this?! Why wouldn't he have told her the truth the first time they met?! How was that fair?! That the Rebellion's villain knew of their familial connection before she did! That she was related to someone like him.

"Who else knows, Luke?" she asked coldly. It was so difficult to keep control, because maybe, maybe a small part of her wanted to hurt him. Hurt him like he had harmed her.

"Leia..." he said lowly.

Leia wasn't letting this drop.

She pressed, "Who?"

He looked down with a slight sigh, "Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru just figured it out before I came to rescue you," he said. Leia nodded, attempting to bury the pain in her heart. She had thought they cared about her despite just meeting her. She pushed that thought aside for now. It wasn't like they hadn't given her a bed to rest on for a while. Now, she wanted answers. He paused, then his eyes lowered to the ground, "Your parents."

That knocked the air out of Leia's chest. She deep down knew that they'd known, but it increased every negative feeling she had. "My parents knew too?"

No, no, no, no, NO!

It raised so many questions. She had thought about everything. About when her parents held her as they watched old Holofilms. About when they watched her take her first steps long ago. About all of those smiles offered. About the bedtime stories read to her when she was younger. About. All. Of. It. Was that all she meant to them? To Winter? To Mon Mothma? A pawn that the Rebellion could use against the Empire? Would Luke have never told her the truth if Vader didn't listen to whatever he told the Dark Lord that gotten him on their side?

She wanted to do so much. But she was helpless with the circumstances. All she did was throw her hands against her hair, the hilt a painful reminder of what she had it in her hand, what she could do with that. She always wanted to meet her parents.

But, but now...

Darth Vader hated her.

And she hated him.

She breathed out through her nostrils, "This is too much to take in. I need... time."

Damn, that was even an understatement to what she was feeling right now.

First, Luke was some long-lost brother, doing moisture farming.

Second, the second evilest man in the galaxy was her long-lost father.

What was next? Hell, next, someone might tell her any children she may have would fall to the Dark Side because of their grandfather and wanting to continue his legacy?! In fact, no. She didn't want to know the answer to that.

Frak her luck, that may happen.

"I understand," Luke nodded.

She would later reflect on the hilt when she was lying in bed, unable to sleep, toying with it in her hands. The weapon she was holding was capable of great good... but even greater evil.

Yet, she found herself placing the hilt on her silver-plated belt.

Author's note: I feel like a time traveler Luke would be a lot more appreciative of Owen and vice versa due to maturity. I have never seen Owen as abusive, but just... oblivious. Even that might not be the right word to describe him. There was definitely some tension there, but I feel like both love each other. Knowing that Luke had to witness Owen's and especially Beru's deaths spooked him and made him realize that there's a bigger galaxy out there.

This Leia is different from the original timeline. In that timeline, she's disgusted by their connection with Vader. This Leia hasn't been tortured by Vader so it's not as personal. She's still conflicted because knowing the countless monstrosities Vader has caused is rightfully getting to her. That plays into why she's conflicted about the lightsaber hilt, not to mention the towels of problems added on.

On a funnier note, I was tempted to end this on a cliffhanger but some people were like this story has too many of them already so I decided to show leniency. Lol

May the Force be with you all always.