Always Two, There Are

68 1 0
                                    

As Darth Terellius, or Luke Skywalker, landed on the lava world of Mustafar, he sensed his mother for the first time. The echoes of her agony continued to resonate on this dark and lifeless planet. Entering into his father's fortress, he notices the bacta tank and hyperbolic chamber. Perhaps Vader will not need them when he is out of the extensive operations. As he examines his Master's main chambers, he notices a necklace on a shelf.
Once again he feels his mother, this time a happy fragment of a memory, of when a nine year old Anakin Skywalker met an angel of a Nabooian monarch, Queen Padmè Amidala in Watto's workshop in Mos Espa on Tatooine, a world he is all too familiar with. In tears, Skywalker cries thinking about how he can never go back to his friends, his sister, or the way of life he knows. He can't beat the empire, his father is now going to be all powerful soon. He convinces himself to continue on with this charade and with each passing moment the temptation to give himself fully into the sins of the dark side grow ever stronger in his mind. Does he grab hold of this power and try to impress, or capture, his rebellion friends? Of course not, they wouldn't accept that. Only if he came back as Luke, a Jedi Knight. His mind is torn.

Vader walks in with a sea of scientists and begins to walk towards a medical bay, acknowledging his apprentice in the process. Laying himself down on an operating table, he is ready to regain some of the mobility he's been without for so long. As a team of dozens of medical personnel and droids work on replacing each dated cybernetic with the most advanced available in the galaxy, the Emperor drifts off to sleep, eager to awaken as a new man. These highly advanced arm prosthetics will enable electricity to flow at a certain voltage, allowing Vader to utilize the force power of sith lightning for the first time. His hanging, gigantic breathing apparatus is condensed down into a singular air device implanted into his neck, which doubles as a voice synthesizer and enhancer. Plastic surgeons attempt repair damaged skin, but some scar tissue is just too deep and remains in certain places. One thing that won't change is his hair, or lack of it. The lava removed every strand from his head, even the roots.

As Emperor Vader wakes up, he already feels freer. He rises off of the table. Once he gets his the hang of walking on his new legs, he goes over to the closest mirror. The middle aged Sith Lord wants to cry, but he physically can't. He takes his first breath, the first time in a regular environment since his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on the same planet 23 years earlier.  "I am whole again."

He joins his apprentice in the great hall.
"Welcome home, son."

Luke looks upon father's face for the first time, seeing himself in those worn eyes. He kneels to try to show loyalty to the Emperor, though he knew in his heart he truly had none, but he knew his master couldn't learn that, for right now the charade has seemed to work. But he can't hold onto it forever.

Igniting his crimson lightsaber, Vader gives the first of many lessons. "First you must unleash your anger. Project it all onto me."

"As you wish, master." Luke draws his green blade and duels Vader, who taunts him:" Obi-Wan was weak." this angered Skywalker who began to swing violently at his father. "You friends will die because of you, because you couldn't stop me. Because you gave into your fear."

"No!"

"Face it, boy. The dark side is in your blood, I was created as a result of dark side experimentation. You are my heir, the rule of two lives on in you!"

"Who's to say I've decided to follow you? I can kill you where you stand."

"You should've done it when I was still weak. Now I am in my ultimate form with only power to gain. You have no choice but to join me."

Luke continues to strike until Emperor Vader decides to toy with him. He blocks each jab and counters them, stabbing at his arms and legs, making small wounds to inflict pain and arouse his anger even more. "Perhaps if you will not comply, I will find your sister and she will."

"Leia?!"

"So that's who it is, of course. She is a feisty one, she'd make an excellent assassin, killing each and every surviving member of the rebel alliance."

Luke swings for the kill, wanting to ensure nothing happens to his twin sister. The Emperor force pushes him back against a wall and shocks him with a bolt of lightning.

"Now, now son. I was under the impression you pledged yourself to me." Luke tried to move himself up but Vader force chokes him and hovers him in the air over an open pit of molten lava that flows under the foyer of the castle. "I will drop you into this liquid fire and you can die an excruciatingly painful death or you can simply comply with me. I suggest the latter." Luke nods in agreement to save his life, knowing as long as he is alive Leia can survive, the person he loves more than anyone else.

More furious than he has ever been, he can feel the good in him slip away. As Vader lets him down on the platform, Luke, seeing a moment of opportunity, force grabs his lightsaber deciding to end his father once and for all, but before he can even ignite it, Vader pushes him against the wall again and shocks him with three consecutive blasts of Sith lightning as he falls to the ground. The Emperor force pushes Luke's lightsaber hilt into the pit of lava so there's no chance of attack.

When Luke stands up and looks upon his master, his eyes turn a shade of reddish-yellow, the true mark of a Sith Lord. Luke Skywalker, like his father, had turned to the dark side to save an important person in his life.

Vader smiles in glee, for now he has everything he has ever wanted... well, almost.

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Age of the SithWhere stories live. Discover now