This is it, the final chapter. Final notes at the bottom. Thank you all for everything.

Chapter 33

"I see your trip was successful, your majesty," Admiral Cassel greeted once Luke made it back to the Palace. He was tired and his head pounded, but Luke had a spring to his step that was undeniable. He was forcing himself to be somber, but Admiral Cassel knew Luke. Perhaps Luke had changed and matured, but that did not mean that Cassel did not know the boy.

So Luke didn't even try to hide his energy, and smiled when he nodded, "Thank you Admiral. I received the closure I needed… I appreciate you taking charge of the details of the memorials. I had not even considered that in the chaos Palpatine had never been buried. His remains are in the throne room? Are there many gathered?"

Admiral Cassel did not meet Luke's eyes, "No, your majesty, though the streets around the old Jedi Temple are already overflowing with mourners for your father's service tonight. I do not mean to question you…"

"Please, you're the one who convinced me not to pick me nose," Luke interrupted with a laugh. Yeah, he'd been a crass young boy. "You never need to stand on formalities with me, but I know what you're going to say. Admiral, the Jedi were not evil, and they did not try to overthrow the Republic. The best bits of my father were those bits of him that were a Jedi."

Admiral Cassel shifted uncomfortably, but it wasn't like the Emperor could commit treason. Finally Luke's loose-tongue wasn't illegal. "As you say, your majesty," Cassel replied with a nod before turning on his heel and heading to finish last minute preparations. Luke went his own way. He might not have liked Palpatine, but he still had to go pay his respects. Luke could not be controlled by his hatred, not when he was in such an easily-corruptible position of power.

When Admiral Cassel had said that few people were at the vigil for Palpatine Luke had imagined a few hundred. Instead it was just a few, less actually-only Leah and Rickon stood by the body. When Luke thought about it, it made sense. The people of the Empire either feared or revered Palpatine, but few cared for or respected him. Of those who did-Leah and the Hands- only Leah felt safe enough to come. Luke would not have harmed the Hands if they stood down, but Luke had no doubt that many of them had no plans of living peaceful civilian lives amid the New Republic. Most likely the majority were searching for new careers as promising assassins. Probably not Mara Jade. She had fled Coruscant with the other Hands, but she would undoubtedly be back. And she would undoubtedly be aware of who truly killed her Master.

Yes, she would be a problem for Luke in the future, but he had for too many other problems to worry about her much for the moment.

Rickon looked up as Luke entered, and nodded a greeting. Luke, however, didn't miss how Rickon moved closer to Leah upon Luke's approach. Something had obviously changed in his friends' relationship while he was gone, and Luke could only wonder just how different they were. He surely wasn't much like the boy they knew.

Leah didn't even look much like Luke was used to her looking. She wore a black dress, her hair hanging down and loose, her eyes without gleam. She didn't appear to be crying, but she stared at Palpatine's body, her hand lingering inches over his black robes. She looked ready to reach out and grab him, but she instead pulled her hand away. Once she did Rickon grabbed it, and Luke got a better sense of where his friends stood.

"He was thirty years older, but still charming when my mom met him. She was a young handmaiden, not close enough to Senator Amidala to be considered family, but still privy to her goings. My grandfather had just died without ever acknowledging her importance, and she just wanted to be loved. She was fooled Luke, just as the whole galaxy was. She honestly thought he loved her, and he pretended to for years. He never asked her questions, and it never crossed her mind that she was telling without him even having to ask. And then your mother found out, and the queen banished her, and Palpatine became Emperor, and he was still kind to her. It wasn't until after I was born a girl that my mother realized we weren't his family; we were his prisoners. If you hadn't been found he would have killed us. He only let me live the first decade because no one expects the daughter of a maid to be reporting back to the Emperor. I was getting too old to go unnoticed when the, y found you, and then suddenly there was a new possibility for the dynasty. I was never strong enough with the Force to have powerful heirs on my own but with you… He wanted the Empire to be his even after he died. His dynasty… his heirs.

"He only ever used me and yet I can't help but miss him. I should hate him, there was never any good in him, and yet I mourn what I should have had. Despite everything he…"

"You can never say those words," Luke told her,reaching out to hug her. "Not even just to me. It will be too dangerous if anyone knew. Keep it in your heart, and don't let it control you. But never, ever say those words aloud."

Leah nodded, but Luke noticed her move ever-so-slightly closer to Rickon, and further from Luke. "And remember this. It's not bad to regret what should have been," Luke told her attempting to close the gap but not reaching to touch her. He suspected she would be glad if he never tried to touch her again. "But Leah, you are loved, by me, by Rickon. And you have a place in our lives not because of what you can give us, but because of what we can give you."

Leah nodded and forced a laugh. She was never one to show her sensitivity for long. "Force. I used to worry he'd kill me if he heard the things you said about Leia, but she's your sister. You were madly in love with you sister!"

"Hey," Luke replied. Leah bottling things up worried him, but she apparently had Rickon now, and so perhaps all she needed from Luke was some normalcy. "I was not madly in love with her. I was just able to appreciate her beauty, and Leia is, for the record, extremely beautiful. I would introduce you two, but I am afraid you will join together to torture me for the rest of my days."

Leah smirked, "You were planning on releasing her into your custody for the funeral, weren't you?"

Oh Force, Luke was in trouble.

Luke did manage to convince Leah and Rickon that they could not be with him when he released Leia, so he ended up entering the prison center alone. He passed Yoda and Ahsoka's cell first, and despite being forced to glare at them for the sake of appearances, Luke still managed to offer his gratitude. "Thank you," he spoke into their minds. "I would recommend you plan your escape for during the funeral. My father does not do well when left alone and bored. He could use your company."

"Restored to the Force balance is, but kept it must be. In your hands our future rests."

As if Luke wasn't already under enough pressure.

Luke passed the other Alliance leaders, and his eyes locked on Mothma. He had no way of telling her that he was working on the problem, that he wasn't dark as well, but her eyes showed trust. He didn't need to tell her; she already knew it. Hopefully the others would as well. As soon as the funeral was over Luke would put his plans in motion, and the Alliance would be gone very soon. It would simply be unnecessary.

Finally Luke reached Leia's cell. She did not appear to be crying, but looked even more ragged and distressed than she had at her execution. When she saw Luke open her cell, however, she ran right into his arms and hugged him. "Luke, I'm so sorry. I know he meant everything to you."

"Leia," Luke whispered in her mind. Unlike with Yoda and Ahsoka, Luke knew he wasn't just speaking to her. Their bond as twins was prevalent through to Force. Luke could feel her sorry and guilt, and she could feel his joy, which simply proceeded to confuse her. "Leia, he's not dead."

"What?"

Luke placed binders on her hands, and casually tapped her forehead to remind her that there were some conversations that needed to be held in private. "Father is alive. He faked his dead, convinced even us, so that he did not have to kill you. Leia. He chose family over power. He's returned to the Light."

Despite managing not to say anything else aloud, Leia's shocked eyes were hard to miss. Apparently Luke needed to distract her from the subject before someone started asking questions. No one but Leia could know their father lived, not any time soon at least. Even Leah and Rickon were better off thinking that Vader was dead because, after all, Vader was.

"I am releasing you into my custody for our father's funeral," Luke stated loudly enough for everyone to hear. Let them remember that she was the Imperial Princess, even if she was also still convicted of treason. "As of right now your conviction of treason stands. Any attempt to escape will be met with resistance. You are under my protection, and anyone who attempts to harm you will be punished, but do not attempt to resist."

"Yes, your majesty," Leia replied, the familiar twinkle back in her eyes. Luke mentally rolled his eyes at her, and then led her back up to the palace to change. She could not go to their father's funeral looking like that, whether or not he was actually dead didn't matter.

Once Leia had cleaned up and changed into a black mourning dress, Luke escorted her (and guards escorted him) to the Jedi temple where the funeral was to be held. Along the way, Luke and Leia found themselves alone in a speeder, and Luke could tell her what she needed to know. "Leia, I need you to understand that I cannot just reinstate the Republic right away. This needs to happen over time to keep the peace intact." Panic flared of from Leia, as if she truly believed that Luke had somehow been corrupted by the power and fallen himself, but Luke's smile reassured her easily. "Leia, in the back of this speeder you will find by bag. In it is an Imperial Edict that shall go into effect tomorrow. It declared that since neither or us know who is older that we shall share power as equals. If one of us was to fall, which I don't think likely, the other would be able to regain control. We will protect each other from the rest of the galaxy, and from the Dark Side. Just as we helped father return to the Light, we will always be there to help each other."

Despite the body (or well armor) already having been burned, a gleaming white casket sat before the temple. Lying over it was the flag of the Empire, and when Luke approached he couldn't help but fold the flag and place it under the casket before beginning his remarks.

"I would like to begin by thanking the citizens of this galaxy. The past week have been chaotic and trying for us all, but since my father's death there has been no battles of this civil war, not even a skirmish between Alliance and Imperial soldiers. This peace has given me the time to grieve properly, and shown us all the kind of lives we could live should we achieve peace.

"Thousands of you have gathered here to pay your respects for my father, and my sister and I appreciate that." There was a murmur of disapproval throughout the crowd. "I know my sister is not the Empire's most loved, but she is my sister no matter what, and she mourns our father as much as I do, and so we both offer you are thanks. I know my father would not have appreciated such a commotion, but that is why it must be made.

"Many of you are here expecting a speech about the great Emperor my father could have been had he not passed so suddenly, or the great right hand man he was, but that is not my father's legacy. Not truly. What many of you have already concluded from my own name, I'm going to finally admit. Before he was Darth Vader my father went by the name of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker was the Jedi Hero of the Clone Wars. For three years he woke up every day to fight for a safer galaxy, and that is a habit that never ended after the Clone Wars. The only thing my father ever wanted was peace, and that is a goal I too share. That is why I will truly enter into peace talks with the imprisoned Alliance leaders. Nothing will change overnight, and no just and peace-seeking citizen has anything to fear from these talks, but I will see the peace my father fought his whole life for.

"This galaxy has been in Darkness for a long time. The Hutts ruled the outer ring violently, the Clone Wars devastated who sections of the galaxy, and this Civil War has hit all those areas unaffected by the others. But that's okay. My father taught me about family, and how it is the basis of a good life, but he also taught me about Darkness. Sometimes it's only in the Darkness that we can find our best selves. I once asked him why there was Darkness, and he told me this. "Darkness hurts, it's true, but Light was always the son of darkness. The Darkness is there, and then the Light comes."

First of all I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed this whole series. Whether you've read one chapter in one fic, or if you've followed, favorited, read, and reviewed every chapter- I appreciate and love you. I know I've improved my writing over this fic. It's not perfect, it never will be, but you've helped me improve and have a lot of fun along the way. Thank you all so much. Don't be strangers. I'm always around and bored. Please, please please feel free to send a PM my way if you're ever around and bored as well. I certainly love to talk.

On a slightly different note- for those of you curious-I will be back, but I don't know when.

A month ago I plotted out my life, and it involved me finishing this fic then going and writing the final fic in my Marvel Starkling series. Unfortunately, I still don't have a plot for that final fic, so those of you waiting for that... well I'm trying to plot it out, but I'm also concussed so my brain functioning isn't the best.

I have 12 one-shots in this series planned. I don't know when I'll write them, but I will write them. They range in seriousness- the trial of Vader's assassin from Book 2 to Vader being nominated as Father of the year- but they all cover more of the development of characters and relationships I never covered here. I've already received a request for Anakin's POV over the last three or so chapters, and so if you have any ideas please let me know and I'll see what the idea sparks.

I also received a request today for a sequel to my Progeny of the Force. I have no idea when, if, how, I'd write the plot I've come up with, but that is also something I hope to do in the future.

And then there are the half-dozen other Au's I have saved to my computer. I have no lack of Star Wars fanfic to write, and I hope you all will give it a shot when I do.

There are also other possibilities- maybe a Flash, Harry Potter, or House of Anubis fanfic- but I make no promises on that front. I'm ridiculously busy right now, but that will ease up soon. Then again I am also supposed to be editing and writing a sequel for my original novel, you know the one I can actually make money off of, so if I'm good I won't write any fanfic at all... I'm not very good.

So yeah, long story short for those of you asking; I can almost guarantee I will write something Star Wars when Rogue One comes out and destroys my life, and I might write something else, either SW or not, in the mean time. So if you see my name around please come and read, and if you hate it, well then don't be miserable, but hopefully you took the time to read this series because you enjoyed it, and perhaps that means you'll enjoy whatever I come up with next as well.