Star Wars: This is Mine

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars

Chapter One: Brother

The Death Star glowed like a moon in the sky. Leia stared up at it from the window of the Ewok treehouse. It might have looked full, if it was completed, but the large gap within the unfinished abomination made it a crescent shape. How strange that something so incredibly destructive could look almost peaceful from this distance.

For one incredible moment, Leia flashed back to Alderaan—she was just a little girl within her room in the palace of the city of Aldera. The large windows gave her a fantastical view of the gently glowing city, all the way to the Appenza Peak in the distance. The mountain's pillared shape was dark against the orange sunset sky. The stars were coming out with the approaching night…but no moon. There was no moon on Alderaan. What had it been like for her people to look up and see the moonlike Death Star? Before they had been wiped out, that is.

With a few blinks, she returned to the here and now. She lifted a hand to the corner of one eye and brushed the beginnings of a tear away. She shouldn't be thinking about that now. The plan was to attack the Empire's shielding base early tomorrow; they would set out at first light. She needed to focus. She and Han were the leaders.

Something poked at her senses—instinct. Leia had always trusted her instincts, and now they were like whispers in her ear. She turned her head side to side—the treehouse was crowded with Ewoks, Han was speaking to C-3PO, and Chewie was gently trying to stop the younger Ewoks from climbing him. But even in the dim light of the fire, she saw a shadow move as Luke slipped out.

Something was wrong with him. Something had been wrong with him since he'd confronted Vader on Bespin, but he was getting even more quiet on this particular mission—if also staying closer to her than usual. She knew he had been watching her when he thought she wasn't paying attention and had stayed within her reach the whole time they'd been trudging through these woods. She hoped it wasn't because he still harbored feelings for her. Leia loved Luke like family, but after everything she and Han had gone through, she couldn't see herself with anyone else but him.

Still, Luke was her friend. Something was up with him, and she needed to find out what. Not only because she cared about him, but because she couldn't let him go into battle distracted.

She walked out into the darkness after him, onto the wooden bridges that linked the Ewok village treehouses together. They were very high up, but Leia had never been afraid of heights. She saw Luke immediately, his back to her across the bridge. His dark clothing blended him in with the shadows, but silver Death Star moonlight shined upon him. Though she couldn't see his face, she had a feeling he was staring off at space, contemplating something.

She approached him. "Luke, what's wrong?"

He didn't jump, so he hadn't been entirely distracted. "Leia." He turned around to face her and then sat back on to one of the rails, so he could be more eye level with her. He folded his hands before him. "Do you remember your mother? Your real mother?"

Leia felt her eyebrows crease at the strange question. Her parents, Bail and Breha Organa, she had loved more than anything. She had never desired anything more than them. There were so few moments in her life when she even wondered about her biological mother and father. Especially the last few years, spent mourning her beloved adopted ones.

But if this was what Luke needed to open up to her, she'd give it to him. She knew his father was the Jedi legend, Anakin Skywalker. Perhaps his distance had something to do with that?

Leia shrugged and sat beside him. "Just a little bit. She died when I was very young."

"What do you remember?" Luke insisted earnestly.

She didn't have much to give him. In fact, she really shouldn't—her mother had died in childbirth, and her adoption into the Royal House of Organa had been mere days after that. "Just images, really. Feelings."

"Tell me," Luke pressed. His focus was pinned on her—she didn't know why this was important to him or what it was about, but she trusted him.

Leia sighed and looked down, always feeling ridiculous whenever she tried to tell anyone this. There was no possible way she could remember her mother, she had been far too young, and anyone she tried to tell always looked at her strangely. But she did remember, and she knew. "She was very beautiful. Kind…but sad." She looked up to Luke, unable to offer him any more. His eyes had lowered, becoming distant. "Why are you asking me this?"

He shook his head. "I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her."

Luke was beating around the bush, not coming out and telling her what was wrong. Leia decided to give him a push. "Luke, tell me. What's troubling you?"

He met her eyes. "Vader is here; now, on this moon."

Leia withheld her fear before it could overtake her, though the hollowed breathing echoed in her ears, easily drowning out the sounds of the insects of the night around them as if the mere name could summon the monster. "How do you know?" She felt cold just thinking about him.

"I felt his presence," Luke whispered. "He's come for me. He can feel when I'm near. That's why I have to go. As long as I stay, I'm endangering the group and our mission here." Luke hesitated, then said "I have to face him."

Leia's mind had already been trying to come up with ways to hide Luke, but her brain screeched to a halt at that last statement. "Why?"

Luke was silent for a long moment, before he finally came out with it. "He's my father."

That gave Leia a pause. Luke looked up at her, ducking his head a little.

Her thoughts were both nonexistent and everywhere. "Your father?"she repeated in disbelief. Years of training in politics kept her from blurting out 'what woman in her right mind slept with him?!'

"There's more," Luke pressed urgently, before Leia could scream. How could the creature that was the Empire's enforcer, the man who had tortured her and Han and hunted them throughout the galaxy, who had murdered countless beings, possibly be related to Luke? "It won't be easy for you to hear it, but you must. I need your help."

"How can I help?" Leia managed to say in disbelief. "Every time the Alliance has faced Vader…" that blood-red lightsaber flashed before her eyes, vaporizing the lives before it. She shook her head. "Luke, you have a power I don't understand and could never have."

In moments of desperation, pursued by Vader, Leia had felt bitter envy of Luke's skill with the Force. Vader had had her at his mercy too many times to count; the Sith Lord was an enemy she didn't stand a chance against face-to-face. But she wished she could make him pay for all of his crimes against her, her people, her family, and the galaxy.

"You're wrong," Luke said, causing Leia's heart to freeze in surprise. "You have that power too. In time, you'll learn to use it as I have."

Leia gaped. She had the Force? All this time? She would have learned to use it ages ago.

Luke drew her from her shock as he reached for her hand and spoke softly. She was too stunned to even wonder if this had romantic implications. "The Force is strong in my family…" Luke said. "My father has it…I have it…and…" he looked up at her "…my sister has it."

Those instincts Leia had always trusted suddenly lit up all across her body. She took a silent, deep breath, suddenly consumed with an impossible idea—

"Yes," Luke confirmed. "It's you, Leia."

"I know," the words slipped from her mouth. "Somehow…I've always known." Well that just made their kiss on Hoth a lot more awkward. But she couldn't deny the instant connection she had immediately felt from the first moment she had seen Luke. It had been like finding her other half. She had mistaken it for romantic love, but when she had tried to express the feelings in that way, it had never felt…right. Now it all made sense.

Holy kriff, Leia's mind suddenly went numb with realization. Darth Vader is my father!

No! Another part of her mind growled, Bail and Breha are my parents! They were always there for me, they raised me, they cared for me! They were more loving to me than Vader ever could have been or could be.

But those oh-so-insistent instincts wouldn't let her deny the biological factor. That woman that had haunted Leia's dreams for as long as she could remember had married—if that—Darth Vader. What an extreme error in judgement.

Luke tightened his hands on hers. "Then you know why wehave to face him."

Leia's mind snapped back to the present. "No!" she shouted, letting go of his hands and standing up at once. But then she caught something. "We?!"

"Yes, we. You and I, we go to him together."

Leia was flabbergasted, no other word for it. "Why?Why in the galaxy would we do that?" Leia had faced a lot of crazy things in her life—being rescued from the Death Star by two bumbling moon-jockeys (and Chewie), being eaten by a space-monster, hiding from Imperials on the very back of a Star Destroyer, and single-handedly killing Jabba the Hutt. Darth Vader being her biological father definitely topped the list, but confronting him?

"Because there is good in him!" Luke stood with her and grabbed her hands between his again. "I've felt it. He won't turn us over to the Emperor, we can save him, we can turn him back to the good side. He struggled to fight me, with you there he's certain to come to his senses." He must have seen the denial in Leia's face because he pursed his lips and said, "We have to try."

"Again with the 'we,'" Leia murmured, eyes narrowing skeptically.

Luke nodded. "I sensed the conflict in him when we fought before…he doesn't want to fight me or hurt me. When he knows about you…"

"Luke. He cut off your hand."

"That was an accident!" Luke cried, pulling his mechanical hand out of hers and tightening it into a fist. Leia gripped his real one, refusing to let it go even as he tugged it away. Luke took a deep breath, turning away from her. "He didn't mean it."

"He still did it," Leia pointed out dryly. "Luke, he's killed hundreds of people. He's helped the Empire, oppressing the galaxy for over two decades. He's enslaved planets. What about Chewie and Wookies? Ask Chewie what Darth Vader has done to his people. Or better yet—" Leia let go of Luke's hand and pointed right up at the sky. "—look up there. Look, Luke. It's a Death Star. It's not even the first one the Empire has built. Do you remember what they're built for?"She lowered her hand to clench it to a fist at her side. Her voice turned dark. "Because I do."

Luke stared at her, sadness and pity in his eyes. "I know, Leia. I know how consumed he is by the power of the Dark Side… But I have to try," he repeated.

"It's impossible," Leia spat.

"I saw your message to Ben," Luke said suddenly. "You said he was your 'only hope,' but that didn't stop you from fighting, from escaping. I faced a one-in-a-million shot on the Death Star, it was impossible, but I did it. You took out the Hutt Crime Empire. We face impossible odds against the Empire every day, but you and I both know we can win this."

Leia put her hands on her hips. "There's a fine line between bravery and—well—craziness."

"We crossed that line long ago," Luke said. He then cocked a grin. "Let's face it, Leia; we're insane."

Leia's breath caught at seeing him smile and joke with her—it felt like it had been forever. He had smiled at her when he came back from Dagoba, but what other times since Bespin? It was his hope that gave him this joy. Leia couldn't bring herself to take it away.

But at the same time, how could she let him do this? If he went and faced Vader and the Emperor, he would die. But then she saw the glint of determination in his eye through the smile, and she deflated.

"You're going no matter what, aren't you?" she asked, slumping.

He had the audacity to look bashful. "I learned to be stubborn from you, Leia."

She snorted. "I'm too good a teacher, then." But then she sobered. She looked at Luke—her brother—and she knew she could never let him go alone. She would sooner lose a limb. She had already lost too much—her parents, her planet, her people…she couldn't lose him.

She gave one last long-suffering sigh, drawing out her moments of non-doom. "Oh, alright, fine."

Luke's smile beamed brighter than Tatooine's suns. He grabbed her in a tight embrace, and for a moment, Leia felt like everything was alright. She hugged him back just as tightly. "I knew you'd come around."

"I think we're both going to die," Leia said into his shoulder, her voice muffled. "But I think that a lot, so who knows." She lifted her head, so her chin rested on shoulder and she could speak properly. The glow of the Death Star poured down on them from above. "I don't think Vader will ever turn," she said softly.

Luke didn't let her go but was quiet. She couldn't see his face. "I know he will," he said finally. She gave a heavy sigh. She supposed that since she and Luke were twins, she was the bad one. But she'd rather die with him than away from him.

A sudden idea occurred to her. "What do we do about Han?"

Luke finally pulled away from her and met her eyes. They were full of conflict. "He'll try to come with us. We just…we have to go."

Leia shook her head at once. "No,Luke," she said firmly. "Han loves us both; we can't do that to him." She hesitated, biting her lip before saying, "I have to say goodbye to him."

Luke looked down for a moment, before he finally nodded in agreement. Han had been dragged into this. He fought in the Alliance for them,and he deserved better than them leaving him in the final battle…at least not without a goodbye.

Keeping hold of Luke's hand, she led him back to the treehouse. But she froze when she saw Han leaning against the door jamb with his arms crossed, waiting for them, watching them. The firelight behind him and shadows of the night hid his face from her. "Hey, what's going on?"

Leia took a deep breath. "We're leaving, Han."

The shadow of Han's head tilted. "If I know you, Your Worship, you never run away from a fight. You see the mission through. Why are you leaving now?"

Leia stared at him, and then her eyes began to tear up. Han's words tore her right to her core. The Rebels needed her to lead them, how could she leave all these people? How could she leave Han? She loved him. And right now, she was about to willingly walk to her death and leave him, and any kind of life they might have made, behind. Leia almost never dreamed about life after the Empire was destroyed, she was too focused on fighting it, but when she did, she imagined a life with Han. She was giving that up, and taking it from him, when they were closer to it than they had ever been before.

But Luke needed her more right now. If Han needed her, she would be there for him too. But right now, she had to choose between them and Luke was the one who needed her most.

"Hey," Han's voice softened and he came to her, wrapping her in his arms. Oh, this hug felt just as good as Luke's but in an entirely different way. With Han, Leia finally felt as if she could rest. All through her life, as Princess, as ambassador, as Rebel, she pushed herself relentlessly. But with Han's strong arms, his scruffy body like a blanket that warmed her to her core, his smell of oil grease…she felt safe. She hugged him back, taking as much strength as she could from him. The tears came and Leia pressed her face into Han's chest. Was she really about to give him up?

"Leia, Leia," Han whispered in her ear. "It's okay…" He began to run a hand through her hair. "What can I do?"

"Just hold me a little longer," Leia whispered. Forever, she wanted to ask.

She wasn't sure how long it was, but it wasn't forever, and it wasn't enough. But she drew away, her heart crying out for him as she did. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears away.

"Luke and I are leaving," she said to Han. "We have…something to do. We need you to stay behind here and finish the mission." She straightened herself up.

Han looked at her, and then flicked his gaze to Luke. "Where are you going?"

Leia swallowed through her dry throat. "We can't tell you."

Han looked angry. "But you can tell Luke?" he demanded.

Leia muffled her whimper, but Han still heard it. He flinched in guilt. A moment of silence passed between the three of them before Han broke it. "I'm sorry."

"No," said Leia immediately. "I am." She couldn't face him anymore. She began to turn away. "Goodbye, Han."

Luke took her hand and the two of them began to back away. "You're my best friend, Han," Luke said softly. "Thank you. Goodbye."

Leia turned around and headed down the bridge. She felt Han's eyes on her back. She was at the end of it when Han called out, and at once she stopped.

"Leia!" he called. She froze but didn't turn. "…I love you."

Leia's heart broke within her. She turned around and saw Han looking uncomfortable. But she met his eyes. "I know."

And then she turned away, knowing she probably would never see him again.

OOO

Leia followed Luke through the forests of Endor. She stumbled in the darkness, but Luke was there to catch her when she fell. He didn't seem to have a problem knowing where all the roots stuck out. If only the Death Star could be actually useful for once and reflect enough light that she could see where she was going.

They traveled in silence for some time before Leia spoke up. "What if Vader attacks my mind?"

Luke glanced back at her. "You're a Force-sensitive, Leia; you have natural shields in your mind. It will be difficult for him to get through."

She blinked. "But Vader tried to get in my head on the Death Star?"

Luke flinched minutely, remembering another one of Vader's horrible sins. If he wanted a list, Leia could certainly give him one. "Triedto get in your mind," Luke said. "He didn't get what he was looking for, did he?"

"No," Leia admitted. But the Sith Lord had certainly caused a lot of pain while looking through her head for the Rebel Base. Strange, though, how Vader must have known at least since then that she was Force-sensitive.

"The Force has always been with you, Leia," Luke said to her. "Trust your instincts. Let it guide you."

Leia gave a skeptical look to Luke's back. "Yeah…" she said doubtfully.

Luke flashed her a grin over his shoulder. "You sound like Han."

Leia ignored the way her heart panged at the mere sound of his name. The idea of a mystical energy bossing her around did not appeal to her. She wasn't as bad a cynic of the Force as Han was, but still…

She decided to change the subject. "I'm guessing you found out about Vader on Bespin?" That was when his whole demeaner had changed. Though to be fair, there were quite a few Rebels who had merely glimpsed Vader and had never been the same.

Luke paused. "Yes," he said softly. "He told me then."

Leia refrained from mentioning again how Vader had cut off Luke's hand. "Did he tell you about me as well?"

"No, actually," Luke said. "He doesn't know about you. Yoda, the Jedi Master who's been teaching me, told me about you when I visited him after Jabba's palace."

"And this Jedi Master can't come out and help us?" Leia muttered.

"He's dead now." Luke's voice was cold.

Leia paused, peering at her brother through the darkness. "I'm sorry, Luke."

He let out a chilling breath. "Thank you, Leia."

Silence dropped over them for quite some time after that.

She saw the lightsaber on Luke's belt catch a bit of moonlight that had snuck through the forest's canopy. "Don't have a spare one of those, do you?" she gestured to it. She knew Luke had lost his father's lightsaber—that now had an entirely different meaning—during his duel with Vader on Bespin. When he had come to Jabba's palace to rescue them, however, he'd just shown up with this new one. Leia had been told that the weapons of the Jedi and Sith were rare—where had Luke gotten it?

Luke glanced down at the saber on his belt. "No, afraid not." He pushed a fern out of his way and held it up for Leia as she came up behind him. "Even if I did, they'd certainly take it from you when we turned ourselves in."

Leia grumbled; she'd still like to have one. Even if she preferred a blaster and had no experience with swordplay, a lightsaber was the one weapon that stood a chance against Vader. Any projectile Vader could stop with the Force, his armor was blaster-proof even if he didn't reflect it with his own lightsaber, and his armor-weave cape could be used as a shield against just about anything.

"Where did you get that one, anyway?" Leia asked. "I remember you losing the blue one after…" she trailed off.

"I built it," Luke answered, ignoring her reference to Bespin. A large fallen tree blocked their path and Luke began to climb it.

She stopped. "You built it?" she repeated. "Why haven't you been building more? Luke, we could have armed all the Rebels with—"

"Each lightsaber needs a Kyber Crystal to work," Luke cut in hurriedly. "That's what makes the blade. And Kyber Crystals are very rare."

Leia wasn't satisfied. "Where do they come from?" she demanded. He held out a hand to her from the top of the tree to pull her on top of the mossy wood with him.

Luke sighed. "A planet called…Ilum," he said. He paused on top of the fallen tree, and then looked up at the Death Star overhead. Leia was racking her brain, trying to remember if she knew that planet in her many travels throughout the galaxy. She paced the top of the tree, looking for the best spot to climb down. "The Crystals are what power the Death Star," Luke said softly.

Leia stopped beside him, stunned by the news. She joined him in looking up at the superweapon. How strange to think that the Death Star was simply a really big lightsaber.

Luke turned his attention back to traveling and he hopped off the tree to the other side. Leia climbed down more slowly. "Not only that, but Kyber Crystals are alive, in their own way."

"Luke. They're rocks."

"Force rocks," he corrected with a teasing grin. "The Crystal actually chooses the Jedi. They'll still work in a saber if you use one that's not yours, but if you do, the Force won't quite…flow right." Luke shifted his gloved prosthetic hand to brush it against the hilt of his lightsaber.

Leia mulled that over for a moment. "So, if we take Vader's lightsaber, he won't be as strong?" She couldn't help but search for weaknesses in her enemies; it was a talent of hers. Exploiting vulnerabilities.

Luke winced. "No, Sith don't do it that way." He sighed again. "Sith Lords force their lightsaber Crystals to submit to them and work properly. They fill it with hatred until the Crystals bleed and turn red." Luke sounded sad about that. Leia wondered if it was because he knew Vader, their father, had done it, or because he pitied the Crystal. Leia, however, found that she couldn't pity a rock.

"So if I want a Crystal, I have to go to Ilum?" she doubted she would ever get the chance, but she did find this subject interesting.

Luke stopped again and Leia paused at his side. He stared at her for a moment before lifting a hand to her shoulder. "The Empire has taken over Ilum, Leia," Luke said softly. "They've stripped the Crystals from it to use for the Death Stars. There's not many left. Your Crystal, which had been waiting for you for thousands of years, has almost certainly been taken by them. It was probably destroyed when we blew up the first Death Star."

Leia took a second to absorb that before she turned to look up at the second Death Star yet again. She wondered if her Crystal was up there, but had to face the reality that the chances were slim. The first Death Star hadn't just taken Alderaan from her, it turned out. It'd taken her Crystal, too.

It's just a rock, Leia tried to tell herself.

A rock that would have given me an amazing laser-sword,another side of her said wistfully. She could use another Crystal (if she ever found one), as Luke had said, but it wouldn't be the same. And even though she couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for Crystals that had been forced to bleed, that didn't mean she would do it to one herself to get one to work for her.

Add 'stole my lightsaber before I could even use it' to the long list of the Empire's crimes.

"You've had two Crystals," Leia said casually, beginning to walk again at a brisk, abrupt place. The insects here were eating her alive.

It took a moment for Luke to catch up with her. "The first one was my father's; that's why it accepted me. But it wasn't quite the same." He tapped his lightsaber hilt. "This one has a Crystal I found in old Ben's house, along with other materials I found there." He paused, then said, "It works for me better."

He went on conversationally. "I've read as much as I could from Ben's journals and other Jedi records. Some Jedi get more than one Crystal, and some Crystals choose more than one Jedi, but it's rare." He took Leia's hand again. "I told you that because I didn't want to get your hopes up, Leia, but the Force finds a way. We've always done the impossible. If there's a Crystal out there for you, we'll find it."

Leia gave him a weak smile. A dark part of her admitted that she just wanted more reasons to be mad at the Empire.

OOO

When Luke and Leia finally found an Imperial patrol and surrendered themselves, Leia glared death to each and every one of them. Her pride screamed not to go without a fight (and there were quite a few moments where she saw an opportunity to attack), but she restrained. Luke remained emotionless and calm throughout the whole ordeal. He didn't even react to the binders that were put on him. Leia, however, couldn't help but hiss like a Kyrat Dragon.

Leia held her chin high and walked like the Princess she was as they led her to the base. Everyone was taller than her. She wanted to strangle them for it.

Finally, an officer led them into the makeshift base. Leia scanned it for weakness and spotted quite a few. It looked like the Empire had slapped this base together in a week. Hope bloomed in her heart that her Rebels would have an easier time taking it down. Only three stormtroopers and the officer were guarding them—Leia and Luke could take them easily, she thought. Was this place truly so underhanded?

Hm, or perhaps this was too easy. Too good to be true. What if this weak defense was just an appearance, and it was all a trap?

Leia was distracted from her worries when the door swung upwards. A stormtrooper poked her back with his blaster to push her forward. At least he hadn't shoved her; Leia knew plenty of Imperials who liked to do that. Which was fully unnecessary.

She stepped through, and there he was. Darth Vader himself. She swallowed and refused to panic, despite the memories of pain rippling through her skin. Images of horror clawed at her eyes, the steady sound of his breath whispered in her ears, fear clutched her mind, her heart, her lungs, and begged her feet to run. No, she stood firm, indominable, her spirit unconquered. She was just as bold as she had been when he had captured her on the Tantive IV. The only change was that she was smarter now.

Great stars, she was his daughter. That was still something she was struggling to absorb.

The officer stepped up to Vader. "These are Rebels that surrendered to us," the officer presented. Vader's helmet trailed from the direction of the officer as he spoke, briefly pausing on Leia but lingering on Luke. Leia held back her huff of indignance. "Although they deny it, I believe there may be more of them, and I request permission to conduct a further search of the area."

Leia kept her face neutral, but she cursed internally. Had she and Luke just warned the Imperials of their friends? Had they ruined the mission?

No,she thought. Luke said that Vader could sense him. Vader, and thus the Imperials, had already known the Rebels were here. She hadn't ruined everything.

The officer held out Luke's lightsaber that they had confiscated from him, drawing Vader's attention back. "The boy was armed only with this." He then jerked his head in a gesture to Leia. "The Princess was armed with two blasters and other assorted equipment."

The 'other equipment' was some rope, food, extra blaster charges, a couple explosives, hunting knifes, and pocket knives. Leia probably should have left the weapons with the Rebels, but it just hadn't crossed her mind. Too late now. And why two blasters? What, Leia liked to have backup.

Vader held out his black leather hand and took Luke's lightsaber. "Good work, Commander," Vader appraised in that deep, mechanical voice. "Leave us. Conduct your search and bring their companions to me. Take the Princess to my ship—"

"No," Luke interrupted. "She stays with us."

Cold silence.

The temperature in the room dropped, which didn't make sense as Endor was a warm planet. Leia clenched her fists to keep from shivering. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the stormtroopers shake and took a bit of satisfaction at her superiority in self-control. But then she saw Vader's masked gaze turn on her, pulling her focus. She met it head on. Just because he was her biological father didn't mean he had any sort of power over her. In all the time she had the misfortune to be near him, Vader had used intimidation, shouting, torture, even his own blasted height to try and force Leia down. Well, it wasn't happening. Not now—not ever.

Vader turned away first, which Leia counted as a win. The Sith Lord looked at Luke, who also met his gaze calmly. Vader's grip tightened on the lightsaber for a moment, before something seemed to shift in the air and the warmth of Endor slowly drew back in.

"Very well," Vader relented.

The officer looked surprised, but didn't hesitate to escape. He turned away and the three of them didn't move an inch even after the stormtroopers shut the door.

Family reunion, yay.

Leia stood there while Luke and Vader stared at one another. It certainly made her feel like a third wheel. Vader was hyper-focused on Luke. She wondered, if she found a blaster or lightsaber right now, would Vader be so distracted that she could kill him? Probably not.

"You obviously have a reason for wanting to keep the Princess close to you," Vader finally said. "Something beyond mere companionship…" his deep voice was contemplative. "…Why would you even bring her along? You came so I could not find your friends by hunting you, but there was no need for her to come as well. It is counterproductive of your desire to protect her. You have placed her in our hands. Why?"

"You're smart, figure it out," Leia hissed before Luke could respond.

Vader finally turned his gaze to look at her. She did not cower. "Perhaps she refused to let you go alone?"

I'm right here, she wanted to shout. Don't talk about me as if I'm not.

He pressed on, voice becoming mocking. "Or perhaps she was too afraid to be alone?"

"Perhaps sheknows more than you,"she said haughtily.

"How is Captain Solo, Your Highness?" Vader sneered.

"Perfect, actually,thank you for asking," she sneered right back. The Imperials had to know by now that Han had been freed from Jabba. If Vader was going to lord over her how he had frozen her love in carbonite, she was going to lord over himhow she had broken Han out.

Vader growled and whirled back on Luke, lifting a finger to point at him. "I wish to speak to you alone. The Princess will remain right here while we go to the end of the hall. If she so much as twitches—"

Leia twitched, just for the heck of it, but Vader didn't seem to notice it. The Sith Lord stopped talking because Luke interrupted again. "She stays with us."

Vader was silent for two of his breath cycles. "Us?"

Leia rolled her eyes and wondered if it was Luke's use of 'us' that had convinced Vader to let her stay in the first place. He obviously wanted to talk to Luke about their father-son relationship, but it was a secret. Vader didn't know she knew. She gave a nonchalant roll of her shoulders. "Daddy a little clingy?"

Vader's helmet snapped to look at her and she gave an innocent grin. Oh, it was so fun to sass and mess with these Imperials, they were all too stuck up.

"Leia," Luke hissed a soft warning. She caught his eyes and for the briefest second saw a flicker of concern in them. That was enough to break through her malice. She huffed but held her tongue…for now.

Vader slowly turned his head back to Luke, finger still pointed at him. "You told her?"

Luke met his gaze calmly. "I have, Father."

Leia tried not to gag at that term. She'd sooner cut out her own tongue than call Vader that.

Vader was silent for another few breath cycles before he straightened, withdrawing his hand. "So. You have finally accepted the truth." It was difficult to find Vader's emotions in his voice with the mechanics interfering with it. But perhaps he sounded prideful? Leia scoffed, she must be wrong.

"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father—"

"That name—" Vader growled, this time the hand holding his lightsaber coming up to point at Luke "—no longer has any meaning for me."

Leia blinked. "But you were Anakin Skywalker," she pointed out.

Vader turned to look at her again, and she could feel his glare through the eye lenses. "Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him."

…Leia's head was starting to hurt.

"What?" she asked, glancing at Luke whom looked as confused as she was. She then gave Vader a falsely-concerned look and used her best princess voice. "It seems you are delusional as well arrogant, Lord Vader." She made a thoughtful look. "However, if you do wish to kill yourself, I certainly won't stop you. In fact, would you like some assistance?" She caught Luke giving her a hurt look—only that made her feel guilty.

Vader whipped out a com device from his belt faster than she could blink—seemingly he had pulled it out with the Force.

"No, she stays with us!" Luke repeated for a third time. He lifted his bound hands as if about to reach for Vader's and take the com but thought better of it.

"Give me one good reason—"

"She's my twin sister," Luke answered, voice dead.

Vader's breathing hitched. Leia hadn't even known that could happen. It wasn't quite a stop, but the breathing mechanism did have some sort of jolt. A whoosh—kirk! Hm, well, if it broke now, that would be quite convenient. But no, it went on, slower and slightly more wheezing.

Well, Leia, she thought with an internal sigh, one way or another, your life just ended. Leia had watched Vader pursue Luke relentlessly across the galaxy, with an endless, obsessive, unstoppable drive that only now made sense—he was after his son. If some miracle did happen and Leia lived, and she escaped from the Empire, Vader would be after her and it would only be a matter of time before she was caught again. He wouldn't stop, he wouldn't let her go. Not now, not now that he knew she was his daughter.

For quite a long time nothing happened. Long enough that Leia wondered yet again that if she just had some sort of weapon here…perhaps something was here that could be usedas a weapon…

Vader slowly turned his helmet to look at her. Leia became still, cleared her mind and stared back at him, indifferent. Despite her arrogant behavior, she did fear him—greatly. She merely knew how to set aside that fear, conquer it, cover it up. Use it to drive her forward. There were some in the Rebellion who called her the 'fearless leader,' but that couldn't be less true. She just knew how to push through it.

But right now, she was afraid to her bones. Vader was terrible enough, and now, she had this horrible link to him through blood. Her very DNA…she had never wished to get out of her own body so much. There was no escape from him.

She hated the way he was staring. A few clever remarks appeared in her head.

"Don't expect me to wear black."

"Personally I don't see the resemblance."

"Surprise, you're a father. How many other fathers and daughters have you killed?"

"What insane woman is our mother?"

"If you evercall me 'daddy's little girl,' so help me I'll—"

But she held her tongue because even the slightest part of her admitted how much of a shock this was for him. She supposed she could grant him silence, at least, no matter how much she hated him.

"You realize you've tortured your daughter—"

"Don't ever expect me to accept you—"

"We will always be enemies—"

Though Vader moved slowly and cautiously, he still took her by surprise when took hold of her chin. Every muscle in Leia's body tensed in panic at the contact. She fully expected him to strangle her, to strike her, to snap her neck, and for a moment she was almost blind with fear, trying to figure out how he was going to hurt her and how she was going to survive it. But then her mind finally figured it out—he wasn't hurting her. He was still merely staring.

She blinked twice in surprise, before jerking her face out of his grip. She grimaced at him in disgust and he withdrew his hand in a movement she couldn't read, despite her 'instincts' trying—nervousness? The hand clenched into a fist.

"Obi-Wan hid you from me," Vader said softly. "The Organas hid you from me." Suddenly the pillars of the walkway began to shake. Leia looked side to side—earthquake? Were the Rebels attacking? Or was this…Vader?

Luke quickly placed himself between Leia and Vader. Though his hands were still bound, he looked ready to fight. But Vader did not direct whatever rage he felt on them; his free right hand lashed out, swiping at the air to his side, and an invisible power destroyed one of the towering trees just outside the base, crumbling it into splinters. Branches snapped, leaves dissolved themselves, the wood exploded.

Leia stared at the tree which had abruptly destroyed itself. Or Vaderhad destroyed it. What kind of power was that? She and Luke had almost suffered that, if Vader hadn't redirected it onto the tree. She shivered to think that power that crumpled the ancient tree turned on their small, frail bodies. She supposed, grimly, that it wouldn't be too terrible of a way to go; at least it would be quick.

"They turned you against me," Vader hissed.

Leia narrowed her eyes from behind Luke. "I think you handled that quite well yourself."

"Both of you," Vader went on, perhaps not hearing her in his anger. "You should have been with me all along." Vader drew himself up to his full, imposing, monstrous height and fear clutched both Leia and her brother as Vader towered over both of them. "You both are mine."

"Father, please, calm down," Luke beseeched. Leia coughed to hide her second gag at that term. Even hearing it sounded like poison. "I knowthere is good in you! The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully."

He looks pretty full of evil to me.

Vader's eye shields locked on Luke, the Sith's focus entirely on him. Something shifted in Leia through her fear—the need to protect her brother arose. She knew she had to draw the full brunt of Vader's wrath off him, somehow.

"Don't act so surprised, Lord Vader," Leia said mockingly. His helmet swung on her, as she intended, and she kept her expression blank. It was a subtle reminder of the words he had said forever ago to her, and, she hoped, would remind him of the harm he had done then.

Whatever he remembered, whatever went through his dark head, his rage calmed and he stepped back. Both Leia and Luke cautiously straightened from their recoiled stances. Luke glanced back at her and their eyes met, both checking to make sure the other was alright. Then they turned back to look at Vader.

Vader did not seem entirely recomposed from his rage when he spoke next. "Where did you learn this?"

"Master Yoda," Luke answered softly, "he told me a few days ago."

Rage once again permeated the air, like frost crawling on Leia's skin. "He lives?" Vader hissed.

"No," Luke's voice became even lower. "He died just after he revealed it to me." Leia doubted Vader would believe Luke, even if it was the truth.

Leia glanced between Luke and Vader. Though she could not exactly explain how, she…sensed something pass between them. Was this the Force? Some energy beyond the might of their gazes. What were they doing?

"It was he who has been training you after Obi-Wan," Vader murmured.

Wait, Vader actually did believe Luke about Yoda being dead? Was that what they had been doing through the Force? Leia made a mental note to be careful with her lies around Force-users, and silently cursed Luke for not explaining it to her.

"Yes," Luke admitted, still in that whispering tone. Leia could tell from the gentleness and obedience in Luke's voice that he was trying to calm Vader down further with his easy compliance.

Vader turned his masked gaze on Leia and she glared back. "Did he teach her?"

"No," Luke said, shifting himself the tiniest bit to hide Leia behind him more. "She never met him." Leia wondered what might have happened if she had.

Vader watched them for another moment before he lifted Luke's lightsaber in his hand to look at it. "I see you have constructed a new lightsaber. Did he teach you how?"

Luke flicked his eyes down to it. "No. But I had notes. From B—Obi-Wan."

Leia flinched when Vader ignited the lightsaber—she couldn't help it. Vader could shout and tower and threaten all he wanted, but when he drew his saber, that meant death. That meant he had decided to kill you, and you were going to die. She struggled against her heartbeat as its pace sped up. Even Luke tensed, and eyed the green blade warily.

Vader, seeming completely oblivious to their nervousness, turned the blade over in his hands, even giving it a small experimental swipe that both Leia and Luke leaned away from. "This is well-made," Vader said finally. "Your skills are complete."

He withdrew it and turned away from them. Leia debated confronting him about the issue of her lightsaber Crystal, but held her tongue. Both she and Luke exchanged glances yet again. How strange, Leia thought, for Vader to turn his back on them. He should know that they were enemies, that he should always face them, no matter how they were bound and weaponless. What did he think he was doing?

"Indeed you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen," Vader murmured.

Leia's eyes narrowed. Vader did not seem particularly…happyabout that. Not that the man was ever happy, but there was…regret?

Luke took a careful step forward, towards him, and Leia wanted to grab her brother and wrench him away. "Come with me, Father." Vader did not respond. "Father, Leia and I are here for you. Come with us."

Vader glanced over his shoulder to look at Leia; question clear.

"I'm here for Luke," she said flatly, stepping up to her brother's side. That she wanted Vader to understand. There was no future for the two of them. He had ruined that long ago.

"Leia," Luke said disappointedly.

A strange sound came from Vader, covered by the voice coder, that drew both of their attention. What had that been? A huff? A bitter…laugh? "She sees the truth," Vader said bluntly. "Obi-Wan once thought as you do, my son." If Vader ever called Leia 'daughter' she didn't know what she would do but it wouldn't be good. Vader turned and took a step towards them, and they both took a half-step back, two children in the presence of a killer. "You don't know the power of the Dark Side." He drew himself up. "I must obey my Master."

Leia narrowed her eyes. How strange to see Darth Vader, a creature with so much power, admit such submission. "You're a slave, then."

Vader's helmet moved to look at her and his fists clenched. But he didn't deny it.

Luke spoke up. "Neither of us will turn," he said determinedly. He suddenly took Leia's hand. "You'll be forced to kill us."

Leia faced death down more times than she could count; she didn't fear it. Was it better or worse, however, with her brother at her side? Helpless to save him, knowing he would die? Or at least having him with her until the end?

Vader's tone was neutral. "If that is your destiny."

Leia narrowed her eyes into slits. "You seem so concerned." She met Vader's masked eyes. She didn't expect him to care, but with Luke here, she expected him to respond somehow. Luke was baring his heart to this Sith; Vader had less emotion than a droid.

"Embrace the Dark Side," Vader intoned to her. "And you will rule the Galaxy by the Emperor's side, and know power unlike anything you have felt before."

Still clutching Leia's hand behind him, Luke stepped forward. "Search your feelings, Father. You can't do this. I feel the conflict within you, let go of your hate!"

Leia tightened her grip on her brother's hand, wondering if Vader would kill him just for saying such things. Luke had matured much over the time Leia had known him, but his spirit of hope had never dampened, never faltered. Yet it appeared now was the time it finally failed. All because of Vader.

Darth Vader, their very father, was breaking her brother's heart. Leia could watch Vader burn in Hell for all she cared (in fact she'd probably enjoy it) but watching her brother's dream be crushed made her seethe with anger. Vader couldn't let go of his rage even for Luke. Of all—

"…It is…too late, for me, son," Vader said softly.

Leia froze. That was true regret, that was true sorrow. Did Vader actually care? Did he actually see the strength of Luke's hope, Luke's desire? And yet he still refused?

Coward, Leia's mind spat. That only made it worse.

Vader gestured and two stormtroopers walked in, quickly flanking Leia and Luke. Leia stepped up beside her brother, squeezing his hand to offer what support she could. The look on his face was heartbreaking. She glared furiously at Vader, as if she could somehow kill him with only a look.

"The Emperor will show you both the truenature of the Force," Vader said, any emotion or care in his body language or voice gone. "He is your Master now."

Leia still glared death at Vader while Luke nodded in sad acceptance. His voice was dry as Tatooine when he spoke. "Then my father is truly dead."

And with that, Luke stepped towards the elevator. But he paused when he noticed Leia wasn't moving. She stayed, completely still before Darth Vader. Oh, she wanted to hurt him for hurting her brother. And she had just the way to do it.

"I expected nothingfrom you once you knew," she said, all eyes on her. She couldn't, of course, reveal their relation in front of these stormtroopers. But she didn't need to. "Yet you managed to do even less."

With that, she turned away and walked past her brother. He came up beside her, and she felt his eyes on him, but she stared ahead. The stormtroopers joined them as they stepped into the elevator. Leia turned to face the door but didn't so much as glance at Vader, staring after them. The door slammed shut, and the elevator began to take them up to the ship that would transport them to the Death Star…to the Emperor.