I do not own Star Wars.

"You are beaten. It is useless to resist," the deep dark voice of Darth Vader said. His red lightsaber was pointed down at Luke Skywalker. The young Rebel was on his back on the walkway in the reactor shaft in Cloud City. His shoulders dug into the metal staircase behind him. "Don't let yourself be destroyed as Ahsoka did," Vader continued.

Anger surged with in Luke as he recalled Ahsoka's robes simply falling empty to the ground in the Death Star. Luke pushed himself to his knees, rolled, and jabbed his father's blue lightsaber towards the dark lord. It landed a blow on Vader's shoulder. The black armor hissed, sparked briefly, and smoked. Vader had jerked back at the initial impact, but then he recovered immediately. At once his red saber was crashing against Luke's again.

Luke had wasted precious time. He had thought about ducking under the instruments and railing, but that led to a dead end on a gantry. Instead he had side stepped, hoping to get around Vader and away from the shaft. However, Vader was quickly back on him. His powerful strokes smashed into Luke's saber. Luke was covered in sweat, cuts, and bruises. This duel was going on too long. Vader was simply too strong.

Vader swung wide, slashed at the walls and machinery. Pieces fell loose. Vader used the Force to fling pieces of machinery and the reactor at the Rebel. Luke slashed through a large pipe, deflected two pieces of paneling, but a large metal box slammed into him. A strong pull in the Force ripped the lightsaber from Luke's hand. Luke let out a weak yell as he toppled to the ground. As he rolled over he saw Vader towering above him with both blue and red lightsabers are pointed at Luke.

"You have lost, boy," Vader said with a bit of triumph in his voice. "Surrender."

Luke was tired. Down to his bones he was tired. Every part of him was sore. He desperately wanted to sleep. His eyes were tired and heavy. He still wore his torn and tattered jumpsuit he had fought Vader in. He had been offered no first aid. Dried blood and bruises dotted his skin. His hair was pressed down to his head in a sweaty and greasy mess. His hands were tightly bound in binders in front of him.

This was how he was to meet the Emperor.

Vader marched in front of Luke. His black cape slightly swaying from side to side with each of the Sith's long powerful strides. Luke was being escorted by two stormtroopers. They both gripped Luke's upper arms tightly. Luke wasn't the steadiest on his feet at the moment. He had tripped and stumbled a few times, causing the troopers to grab him and drag him at times. Luke was barely aware of his surroundings through the Imperial Palace. He was just focused on taking one step at a time.

There was a welcomed ride in a lift where Luke took a moment to collect himself. But shortly he was grabbed and pulled out of the lift into the throne room. The red Imperial Guards stood attentively on either side of the lift door. Six more guards were stationed down the narrow room near the throne. The actual black throne chair sat in front of a large circular window that was divided into eight parts. The afternoon sun bore through the window, making it hard to stare at the chair.

Finally the group came to the stairs leading up to the throne. Vader turned sharply and promptly dismissed the two troopers with a wave of his hand. Vader tightly gripped Luke by the arm and dragged him so the two stood side by side. Suddenly the red Imperial Guards quietly walked away. Leaving Vader and Luke alone with the Emperor.

Luke stared at the chair, which had its back to Luke. Luke's heart pounded in his chest. He could hear the beating throbbing in his ears. Luke questioned if he was ready. He was in no state to actual defeat him. The only thing Luke could possibly walk away with was a noble and quick death. He wouldn't give the Emperor the joy of a public execution.

The chair slowly turned around. In it sat the Emperor, a small hunched over old man in all black clothes. His eyes were shadowed in the black hood of his robes. They seemed to glow and pierce into Luke. Then suddenly the Emperor slouched forward. His head swayed a bit from side to side. It reminded Luke of a toy doll unable to support itself.

What had just happened? Luke glanced up at Vader. The Sith was unchanging. His breathing still even. His grip still tight on Luke's arm. He stood unmoved. Then suddenly he dragged Luke down with him as kneeled down to one knee. Luke ungracefully fell to his knees as well.

"My master," Vader's deep voice broke the silence of the room. "I have brought young Skywalker."

If Vader hadn't dragged Luke down, he wouldn't have kneeled in front of the Emperor. He would show that man no respect. Luke snapped his head up in defiance, ready to stare down this plague to the galaxy. Yet the figure on the throne was still slumped in the chair. That's when Luke heard the sound of boots clicking on metal. They were coming from behind Luke.

A cold shiver ran up Luke's spine. His hair on the back of his neck stood on end. The Force screamed that whoever was walking behind him was dangerous. Luke could sense the dark side rolling off this newcomer in waves. He was stronger than Vader, which Luke didn't think was possible. A man walked around the two kneeling figures and stopped right in front of them.

"Hello, Luke," the man said.

Luke just stared at him. He was mid-aged. His brown hair was greying, but was combed back into a sleek style. The man projected a sense of confidence and arrogance. He was smiling down at Luke. Luke noted a lightsaber hilt clipped to the man's belt. He wore a black leather tunic and black robes that reminded Luke of the Jedi robes Ahsoka had worn. Granted the feature that pulled Luke in was the eyes. Bright golden eyes that were staring right at Luke. A scar slashed against the man's face above the right eye.

"Rise, Lord Vader," the man said.

Vader let go of Luke's arm and rose to his feet. Luke stayed on the ground for a brief second unsure of what to do before he finally clambered up to his feet as well. The man was tall. Luke glanced uncomfortably from the man to Vader and back to the man.

"We meet at last, Luke," the man said.

"You-you seem to know me," Luke said. His voice started off shaky, but he quickly found his confidence. "But who are you?"

The man took a step closer to Luke. Luke wanted to back away, but held his ground.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," the man said. "I'm your father."

Now Luke did take a small step back. He looked at the man- his father- Anakin Skywalker again. This couldn't be true. His father was dead. He couldn't be- He couldn't be alive. And here in the throne room. And . . . the darkness swirled around the man. And . . . a Sith.

"No . . ." Luke said softly. "No. That's not true! You can't be! That's impossible! My father- Anakin Skywalker is dead!"

The man calling himself Anakin sighed. "And who told you that lie? Ahsoka? Luke, search your feelings. Listen to the Force. You know what I say to be true."

He was right. Anakin Skywalker was right. The Force hummed that this was the truth. This was Anakin. This was Luke's father. The father Luke had always dreamed would come and take him away to the stars. The hero that had fought valiantly in the Clone Wars. The brave Jedi.

"No . . . No. No," Luke said.

There was a pain gripping at his heart. This couldn't be true! Yet the Force hummed truth over and over and over again. Anakin stepped forward. He grabbed Luke's shoulder with a gloved hand. His other hand came to rest gently under Luke's chin. Anakin tipped the chin so Luke looked at Anakin in the eyes. Luke could feel the cold darkness from Anakin start to wind itself around Luke.

"Luke," Anakin said softly. "Join me. This is your destiny. I will complete your training. Together we can rule the galaxy as father and son."

Luke's eyes glanced behind Anakin to the slouched figure on the throne. Anakin looked over his shoulder following Luke's gaze. He let out a hearty laugh. Anakin stepped away from Luke. Anakin walked up the steps to the throne. He grabbed a fistful of the hood of the Emperor and sharply pulled the head back. The Emperor didn't respond. Then Anakin threw the head back down, which slammed into the chest.

"This Luke is nothing more than a mere puppet," Anakin said as he started down the steps towards Luke. "A shell of a once prideful and foolish man. Sheev Palpatine has been dead for years now. But his body still serves my purposes."

Anakin again stood in front of Luke. Vader was still quietly standing to the side. Anakin flicked his hand. Luke could sense the darkness lash out from Anakin towards the throne. Suddenly the Emperor's body sat up. He folded his fingers in front of his face and looked down at the group below.

"Who stands before me?" the voice of the Emperor croaked. A shiver ran through Luke hearing that voice. It was the voice he heard over the holonet time and time again when the Emperor gave speeches.

"Quite convincing, isn't it?" Anakin said proudly. He flicked his hand again and the body sagged lifelessly into the chair again. Anakin's golden gaze turned back to Luke and smiled a crooked smile.

"This . . . this isn't possible," Luke said.

"With the Force, all things are possible," Vader said. His deep voice echoing through the room.

"But . . . how are you even alive?" Luke asked.

"What lies were you fed, young one? I'm curious to hear how they said I died," Anakin prompted.

"They said . . . Uncle Owen said you died in a crash. You used to pilot a spice freighter," Luke explained.

For a brief second, Anakin looked surprised. Then he let out a loud laugh. "That's the first time I've heard that!" he said. He turned to Vader. "A spice freighter?" Vader nodded his head very slightly. "And tell me, what did my old padawan Ahsoka tell you?"

Luke looked uncomfortably between Anakin and Vader. He brought his hands together in front of them and clasped them together. "She said you were betrayed and killed by Darth Vader," Luke whispered.

An odd sound came out of Vader's vocoder. Luke wasn't sure what it was supposed to be. A laugh. A huff. A sigh. Anakin turned and looked at Vader.

"She's the one that betrayed us," Anakin hissed. "She turned your mother against me. She dueled me. Left me to die in a mining facility that was falling into lava. And . . . "

"And when I tried to save you," Vader spoked up. "She attacked me from behind. Sliced off my limbs. Left me burning alive on the bank of a river of lava."

"Then she stole you," Anakin said turning back to Luke.

The anger, hurt, and betrayal was clear in the Force. There were deep wounds. The Dark Side reacted to both Anakin and Vader's anger. It swirled and thrashed throughout the room. Luckily not at Luke. It seemed to bend around him as if there was a bubble protecting him.

"But now," Anakin said calming down. He approached Luke and again placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're now together. As it should have been all along."

"I . . . I won't turn to the dark side," Luke said.

"So you say now, my son," Anakin said smiling at Luke. "I don't think now is the time to be making any decisions. You've had quite a day. I'm sure you need some time to sort through everything."

Luke shook his head. "No," he said more confident. "I won't turn."

"Stubborn," Vader said. "Like his father."

"Like his mother," Anakin added softly. His gold eyes dug into Luke. "In time I'm sure you'll understand the power of the Dark Side. But regardless, Luke, your destiny is here by my side. You won't be leaving it."

Author's Note: This started out as one of my one-shots from my Luke & Vader collection. I decided I wanted to do a follow up to it, and this is what came about. I decided to try something different. I wrote out the whole story before posting it. It is nine chapters long.