AN: Hello everyone! Thank you for the reviews and continued support. I am sorry that I have not been able to update this sooner.

Once again, we are recounting what happened on Mustafar and the aftermath. We will soon return to "present time" with Luke, Leia, and Vader.

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With the transport securely set in hyperspace, there was no need for the Sith Lord to remain in the cockpit. It was in the back with his son where he belonged. He slowly approached this area, not knowing what to expect. The boy was still alive; his Force signature was still a dim beam in the Force. It certainly had changed from the once bright, white it had been. Now, it was…muddled. His son was sitting somewhere between the Light and the Dark in the Force. It would be up to him, the Sith Lord knew, to push the boy towards one side or the other. Had his own Force signature been this way when he had originally come to Mustafar? Had he listened to Padme and gone away with her, would that have pushed him back into the Light? There was no way of knowing.

The ghost of his former Master was at his son's side, trying to keep the boy awake. Vader certainly knew the struggle of trying to remain awake in one of those medical capsules. Though, were he honest with himself, he did not remember much from his journey from Mustafar to the Imperial Capital. It had all been a blur of pain and anguish. He could vaguely remember Palpatine standing above him during the journey, making an effort to keep his damaged apprentice alive.

"Anakin," the Force ghost called, bringing Vader out of his thoughts, "your son needs you."

"That name no longer has any meaning for me," the Sith Lord countered, coming to stand before his son and next to his former Master. There was pain written all over his son's face. It was something akin to what he had sensed from the boy after Bespin. Did Luke blame him for everything that had transpired on the molten planet? Truly, if he did, Vader would not blame him. It seemed that he excelled in harming the ones he loved.

"And yet, you claim Skywalker as your son," Obi-Wan replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance from his voice. Palpatine was dead. There was nothing to continue holding Vader in the Darkness. His son could be his path back to the Light. Vader claimed Luke as his son. And, there was the undeniable proof that there was something inherently different about his former apprentice's Force signature. It seemed lighter, if ever so slightly. Perhaps it was possible to return from the Darkness.

The old Jedi looked down at the boy, a spitting image of his father. Would the fate of the Skywalkers always be permeated by Darkness? At the very least, Leia had been spared the fate, though she had suffered at the hands of the Empire as well. If she had had been taught the Force, Obi-Wan wondered, would she have been spared her suffering or endured the fate of her father and brother?

"Brother?" Vader questioned, picking up on the thoughts of his former Master. "Luke has siblings?" He didn't know what to think of this new information. It was a total shock to his system. After the death of his wife, he had believed himself forever alone in this galaxy. When the news of his son's identity reached him, the Sith Lord had done everything in his power to claim the boy. It had not turned out the way he had hoped. But now, to find out he had another child? It was extraordinary.

Obi-Wan cursed himself. He did not know why he had let his guard down for Vader. The secret of Luke's sister had remained just that, a secret, for all this time. It was done to protect the children from Palpatine and Vader. The children would have been a threat to Vader, and Palpatine would have wanted them destroyed. Yet, with the Emperor gone, there was no need to hide the fact any longer from his former apprentice. The subtle change in Vader's Force signature towards the Light was proof enough that his children could act as a positive influence.

"A sister," Obi-Wan replied at length, "Leia Organa of Alderaan. Bail adopted her after…"

"Yes," Vader answered, not wanting to discuss that at the moment. "A daughter? How was I so blind to not notice? She looks like Padme." He was speaking more to himself than anything. He remembered when she had been on the Death Star, and what he had done to her. He remembered the space smuggler, her lover. He had stolen the man away from her. He cursed himself once more. Could he not do anything correct where his family was concerned?

Still, the time needed to be dedicated to Luke. The medical capsule's mechanisms, those which were keeping Luke alive, needed to be reset. He went about this mechanically, the full weight of the situation finally cresting upon him. It was a very real possibility that Luke could die before they reached the Imperial Capital. He could use the Force to help sustain his son's life, but he was unsure if it would be all that effective. Force healing was not something he had excelled in, whether through the Light Side of the Force or through the Dark.

Obi-Wan remembered a similar situation as he watched Vader working with the life support to sustain the boy. He remembered Polis Massa; he remembered doctors trying to keep Padme alive. The words of the robotic doctor still rang in his head. She has lost the will to live. He could sense the Force around young Luke. Vader was trying to heal him, but Luke's own Force signature was growing weaker. It could not be that the boy was dying.

"Give him a reason to live," Obi-Wan demanded, a commanding tone coming into his voice. Distantly, he thought it odd that he was speaking to Vader this way once again, as if they were Master and apprentice again. It was akin to the old days, when he had seen this man as his brother.

"A reason to live?" Vader questioned. "He would not think himself to death."

"The power of the mind is very strong, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied quietly.

Vader would have given a short laugh, had he the ability. Still focusing his Force powers towards his son, he looked at the ghostly form standing beside him. "Were that true, to think one's self to death, I would have died shortly after being put in this iron lung."

Damn his stubbornness. The Jedi Master did not like the way this conversation was going, but he had no other choice. Luke was quickly slipping towards unconsciousness and Force knew what else. It was clear the boy was delirious, not even remotely aware of his surroundings.

"Give him a reason to live, or do you want him dead too?" Obi-Wan finally answered angrily. "When I left this place those years ago, who do you think it was who took Padme to safety? I did everything in my power, but she had lost her will to live. She died after childbirth. Her dying words were that there is still good in you. Prove her right, and save your son."

Vader could do nothing but look at his former Master completely frozen. He had never known what had become of his wife. Clearly Palpatine had lied in stating that he had killed her. The children were proof of that. But, she had lost her will to live? He had not killed her physically, but he had destroyed her psychologically. That, perhaps, was even worse. She had survived him attacking her. She had given him two children. But because of his actions, she had no longer felt the need to live. Even her newborn children had not been enough. And now, because of him, another member of his very small family was going to die because of his actions. The anguish in his heart was almost too much, but he would not allow that to control him now.

"Luke," he called as he turned his attention back to the boy in the capsule, hoping that his son would hear him. Now he was able to sense Luke's Force signature diminishing more and more. Why had he not sensed it before? He abandoned his attempt to heal Luke through the Force and took hold of his shoulders. "Luke," he demanded, slowly bringing his hand up to touch the boy's face. "You cannot die here, not like this. Come back to us. The Rebellion needs you. The Empire needs you. This world is too steeped in Darkness. Help me bring balance to the Force, and pull it out of the Darkness that I helped create. Luke, I need you. I ask that you try. Live; hold on and live."

Something stirred in the Force as Luke's Force signature disappeared.

"Luke?" Obi-Wan questioned, a dark shock going through his body. No, it was not possible. This could not happen once again.

"No," the Sith Lord shouted, gripping the boy's shoulders again to shake him slightly. "You cannot die on me! Don't do this. Luke, please." His mind was burning. History was repeating itself. Fate could not be such a cruel mistress. It could not take away the one thing he loved from him, not again. When the boy still did not respond, he let go of his son's shoulders and numbly stood back to look at the figure lying unmoving in the capsule.

The only sound in the area was the sound of the respirator. That sound, the sound of Obi-Wan's ultimate failure and of Vader's demise. It would forever be a sound of death and destruction. The Sith wanted nothing more than to rip the damnable mask from his face if only to make the sound cease. It seemed far too loud to him now.

But then-a gasp from the unmoving body. The eyes opened wide, unseeing. There was no Force signature, but Luke was alive. Blindly, the boy tried to reach out with non-existent hands. "Father?" he questioned, seeming to look toward the sound of the respirator.

"Luke?" Vader answered, not knowing what to think as he looked at the boy. Seeing Luke alive, reaching out blindly sent his mind reeling. He had thought the boy dead. Though he still had no Force signature, it was clear his son was alive. He once again took Luke's shoulders, though this time he pulled his son against his chest. A hug. He didn't remember the last time he had held someone. "Luke," he continued, not wanting to let him go, but knowing it was necessary, "don't do that again."

"It hurts," the former Jedi and former Dark Side user cried out, as if the pain had only just reached him. Moans of pain began to escape his mouth. "Make the pain stop," Luke sobbed.

The pain was good, Vader knew. It meant his son was conscious and would be able to fight to live another day. There would be little he could do until they reached the Imperial Capital. "Hold onto the pain, Luke," Vader instructed. It was such a cruel lesson to teach. "Focus on it, and stay awake. We will arrive to the Imperial Capital soon. Once there, your pain will stop." It was only a half truth, Vader knew. The boy would suffer the pain of reconstruction and rebirth, the same as he had. With his son very nearly dying, he would not want to anesthetize him. It could kill the boy.

An indicator that they were quickly coming out of hyperspace chimed, alerting Vader that he would need to leave Luke for the moment. He was loath to do so, but he knew that Obi-Wan would not be able to help fly the transport, nor would he know the security codes to land on the planet. The best he could do was make a quick landing at the Medical Center.

"I will stay with him," Obi-Wan stated, sensing Vader's apprehension to leave. He smiled slightly at his former apprentice. "You have given him the will to live. He won't leave you."

"Obi-Wan?" Luke questioned through the haze of pain.

Vader nodded and turned to leave. He paused for a moment to look back at his son and former Master, seeing a shadow of his past of himself and Obi-Wan. "Nine," Vader stated.

"What?" Obi-Wan questioned, turning to look back at the Sith Lord.

The former Jedi smiled beneath the mask despite the pain it caused. "Nine," he repeated. "The favors you owe me. Have you forgotten, old man? You only owe me nine now." The Sith Lord did not wait for his former Master to reply. Perhaps, just maybe, it would be possible to have some kind of alliance once again with his former Master and brother, Obi-Wan Kenobi. It would only take forgiving one another. A Skywalker could always be capable of such a thing.

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AN: Well, this is a shorter update. I could continue, but the chapter would end up being very much longer. I will update soon. Much love from POTOSW.