maskormenacelogs | [Closed]

Entry tags:

[Closed]

WHO: Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.
WHERE: De Chima (but I can change that if necessary).
WHEN: Mid-morning/early afternoon.
WHAT: A sort of reunion?
WARNINGS: Skywalkers.

Seeking parts for a ship was an onerous task. Those who had greeted him initially had not been lying when they spoke of how barren this world was technologically speaking. The best he could do was piece odds and ends together and hope the damn thing didn't explode midair right after takeoff. A truly sound plan!

It was during one of his searches along the streets of De Chima that he noticed a faint pull from the Force. Immediately, his work became secondary. He dropped the parts he was holding and turned, pacing closer and closer to the source. It must be here. Was he sensing Count Dooku? No, it didn't feel Dark at all, which was strange.

Was there another Jedi in the city? If so, he would probably benefit from their demise lest they try to interfere. With a small wave of his hand, he summoned his lightsaber from his belt and readied himself for battle.

"There is no point in hiding or fighting me. If you surrender peacefully, I will show you mercy."

As if a Sith Lord knew the meaning of that last word, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Anakin wasn't the only one looking for parts, though Luke's quest was much more simple in scope. He was fortunate enough to have arrived with the parts of his lightsaber, and with De Chima being the most likely place to find parts to finish it, of course he was going to be wandering around there. He had the half-finished cylinder out on the counter of an outdoor stall, trying to describe what he needed to the owner, when the Force flared a warning in the back of his mind. It was too late, of course -- he had been off his guard, and hadn't anticipated that the presence looming behind him would feel different from the black-clad figure he was used to seeing.

The stall owner took one look between Luke and Anakin at those threatening words, and held his hands up, quietly shuffling away.

Luke stood where he was at, his back to his father, feeling the hairs on his neck standing on end. He was not ready for this; he had been laboring over how to deal with his father's presence in the background of his mind since he arrived, but he still was not prepared. How could he be? He had just found out the bane of the galaxy was his father, and now he was standing behind him, unburdened by the technology that made him such a terrifying force.

He bit his lip, quietly slipping his lightsaber parts into his bag as he glanced around the various parts behind the counter. He was still pretty bad at moving things with his mind, but if he could at least get something to move, it might be a bit of a distraction?

With a sudden burst of speed, Luke took off to his right, bolting as fast as his legs and the Force would let him. Though a some noticeably only wobbled, a few components went flying out from behind the stall, aimed to pelt Anakin in the face.

He had been itching for a duel since he arrived. The stall owner and his reaction meant nothing to him - though he applauded him for his quick thinking! Luke was the one who had his full focus and he noticed that the closer he ventured to the other man, the stronger the Force vibrated. Either this was destined to be the fight he had been seeking - and then some - or he had another connection that needed close examination.

Not that Luke gave him a chance. The components were deflected with ease and Anakin shifted from motionless to racing after his quarry within the space of a breath. He kept his lightsaber disabled - one didn't run with such a weapon unless they had no choice - thus he was free to leap over obstacles and find the shortest routes to cut off Luke's progress.

Though he didn't really need to. A small smirk curved his lips as he raised a hand, shifting trash-cans, boxes - whatever was readily available - into the other man's path. The items crashed together with such a force that it was clear that he was serious.

"Tricks won't work on me." but oh he enjoyed challenges. His eyes glowed a yellow-gold and he grinned. "Only the Jedi have a signature like yours in the Force. If you are a fully trained Jedi, you shouldn't fear fighting me."

Except Luke should fear that, full Jedi or not. Anakin had adopted complete ruthlessness in such situations.

Luke's heart was pounding in his chest, knowing there wasn't much at all he could do. He was unarmed -- he didn't even have a blaster on him! -- and his skills with the Force when he was trying not to panic like he currently was were laughable at best. There was no way he was going to come out on top here; the only thing he could do was rely on tricks and hope they were at least enough to slow his father down.

It was hard to miss the trickle of doubt, though. This was Darth Vader in his prime; there was no way he had a chance.

Luke's eyes widened at the collision in front of him, but he kept running, giving a small jump before springing up as far as he could. His hand flailed out, grabbing onto and clutching desperately to a building scaffolding, trying to swing his legs up as his bag swung around, parts clanging around inside loudly.

In the years to come, Anakin - Darth Vader, rather - would grow stronger in the Force; more controlled and infinitely more frightening due to his heartlessness. Luke was both blessed and cursed that Anakin as he was now felt his emotions keenly and they were driving him into the Dark; into madness. He could strike a mortal blow - he saw many openings - but that wouldn't solve the mystery of why Luke felt so damn familiar.

"Really?" he sighed and raced forward once again, leaping onto the scaffolding as if gravity did not apply to him. Then, with a quick motion, his lightsaber was sheathed, nice and safe, on his belt, before he reached down, heaving Luke up onto the platform. Yes, he could easily carry his son - he had done so with Obi-Wan multiple times.

"You're lucky. I want answers from you, so you will live for a little longer."

Luke nearly panicked as he was grabbed up onto the platform, his gut hitting his shoes before he hit the wooden surface. He scrambled away almost immediately, or at least as far as he could, finally flopping over and looking up at his father.

Seeing him face to face was different from the image on the communicator screen. It sprang to life a host of emotions that Luke really didn't want to deal with, especially while he was face to face with the man he had thought was dead for so long. He wanted to snap at him, point out that he seemed to better like torturing people without asking questions, but he held back, instead letting him get a good look at his own face. Maybe then he'd realize why he was running.

He fed on the panic; he knew he had the upper-hand and that was soothing for his ego. The Sith within him was still, willing to put aside his bloodthirsty, power-hungry nature for a moment or two. As Luke scrambled away from him, he finally, finally got a good look at his face.

His eyes. Silently, he cursed the Force - fate - whichever was responsible for this new devilry - or was it treachery? No matter; nothing was going to stop him from reaching his ultimate goal for the sake of Padmé and the galaxy.

"Who are you?" he was overwhelmed by the familiarity of Luke's features; of his presence. The other man didn't need to say a word. "I know you, but I don't."

Edited 2017-04-22 18:57 (UTC)

"You will know me," Luke managed to get out. He couldn't help but feel a little smug at the look on his father's face too. This time he was the one dropping the emotional surprise thermal detonator. He quashed the feeling down of course, but it was still there, lingering on the fringes of everything else he was feeling at the moment.

"I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm your son."

A retort was on his tongue when Luke pushed the metaphorical red button. It was Anakin's turn to pale and stumble. He caught himself against the scaffold's railing, breathing unevenly.

"...no. I - " though he hated how he felt helpless to stop himself, he took in Luke's every facial feature once again. And then a third time.

His knees wouldn't quite hold him and he fell against the wooden platform with a harsh sigh.

"If you know I'm your father, why are you running from me?"

This could not be; this was not po - No, it was absolutely possible and the Force was screaming that fact at him.

"Luke."

The stars help him, that had even been a name they had discussed.

Edited 2017-04-22 20:23 (UTC)

Good.

Luke took in that shocked face, the fact that his father had to stumble away from him, and he just wanted to bathe in the satisfaction of it. This time he was the one in control -- he may have been helpless physically, but with that information at his disposal he could make him be the one to suffer this time. Maybe he should even grab for his lightsaber -- really make the situation even...!

The dark thoughts ground to a halt as his eyes flicked to his father's right hand, and the bindings on his glove, looking too tight for a normal hand to be able to withstand. It seemed like someone beat him to it.

He blew out his anger in a heavy breath, trying to find calm again. It was hard, with his father calling him by name, but he managed, at least to the point where the tight feeling in his chest was ebbing away.

"Because you and your Emperor make the entire galaxy suffer, and I've been fighting to stop you."

If Anakin were in his position, he would be feeling the same way. Skywalkers were a reckless, passionate bunch that often acted before they thought and only then realized the error of their ways. Apparently those traits followed them well into adulthood and middle-age!

He barely heard the angry breath; his mind was abuzz with the truth that lay, completely bared and terrifying, before him. His son. Why couldn't Padmé be here? Did she somehow raise Luke away from him? Did they both hate him?

His insides curled in agony and he clutched his left hand far more than his right.

"My Emperor?" he snorted, voice shaky, "I don't have an Emperor."

Palpatine thought that was the position he would have and Anakin was aware of that much, but he had plans to take that from his Master. The Sith Lord was far too unhinged to rule a galaxy.

"What of your mother?" his throat tightened around those words and there was a flash of fear in his eyes, "Does she fight me too?"

"Yet."

There was a bit of a bite to his words, more than Luke intended, but it was still there. He wasn't stupid, and he well remembered Vader's offer. We can rule the galaxy as father and son. He wasn't interested then, and he still wasn't, but the fact that Vader would betray Palpatine at the drop of a hat wasn't lost on him.

Mention of his mother made him pause in confusion. Why would he ask about her; with the path he was going down, wouldn't he have known?

"...I never knew her. Uncle Owen said she died when I was born."

His mouth opened to argue, but how could he? If Luke was his son, he was clearly from the future and he would know. Anakin could sense no lie behind his words and, besides, why would anyone in their right mind lie about that?

"Never." he whispered stubbornly - as an afterthought - jerking himself back onto his feet. As much as the news about Palpatine confused and angered him, he found himself unable to breathe when Luke spoke of Padmé.

...she died when I was born.

The nightmares... Her screaming... Was that childbirth? He had never witnessed it, but surely it hurt? The scaffolding would begin to groan as the metal pieces were bent and twisted as if they were being pummeled by mighty fists.

He had thought someone was torturing her... But it had been him? Their love? Their children?

"No!" the word was shouted so emphatically that if it had been an incantation, it surely would have been a successful one. Drawing his lightsaber, he ignited it and pointed the blade at his son. Tears rolled unchecked down his cheeks, a sign of the storm raging within him.

"I am going to keep her alive! No matter what it takes!"

Luke let out an alarmed noise as the scaffolding started to sway unsteadily, metal letting out loud, stressed noises that grated his ears. The snap of the lightsaber drew his attention away from that, however, and his eyes widened as he took in the familiar blue blade. Of course it would be the lightsaber he had lost at Bespin -- of course he couldn't be so far gone yet that the blade was still the same.

But there was no way he was going to get out of this in one piece of he didn't do something, and all he had in his favor were some rudimentary Force skills, and a connection with a lightsaber that was only one-sided on his end.

...what else did he really have to lose?

"Obviously you fail," he snapped, shoving out toward Anakin with the Force as hard as he could, while trying to reach for that lightsaber, hoping that it would answer his call.

A hard head wouldn't do them much good if the scaffold fell. Not that Anakin cared in particular if the whole world fell apart at this point. He had failed her and, to make matters worse, his son hated him. It was all too much to process in one helping and if he weren't an emotional, stressed out mess, he would have been proud of how Luke had turned the tables on him.

"Shut up!" his hand shook, his knuckles white as the lightsaber - once a symbol of good - tried to escape his grip and go to -

His son. The shoving knocked him back against the railing and he coughed as the wind left his lungs abruptly. He knew if he kept the weapon out, it would go to Luke. Frankly, he couldn't risk losing it; not with Dooku in the city and so much to accomplish. But, for a moment, he considered relinquishing his hold.

Letting Luke have it.

That realization made him extinguish the light and put the weapon away with a scowl. Turning his blade on his son was really no different than turning it on Padmé. Unforgivable.

"She's... You...and her...are all I have."

Edited 2017-04-22 21:36 (UTC)

He almost did it; he didn't miss the lightsaber moving, the fact that his father had to hold onto it a little tighter. Luke was sure if he had been more powerful himself, then he might have been able to manage it. Still, the fact that his father seemed to calm and put it away was enough at the moment, though he didn't come off his guard, ready for him to try and strike him again.

"...I didn't even know you were my father until recently," he replied after a moment. "Seeing your face here helped me know you weren't lying when you told me."

He stepped forward, keeping his gaze level on his father, his anger just barely held in check under the surface. There was no way Luke was going to give Anakin the satisfaction of giving into it; those lead to consequences that he was staring at, right here. If his own father couldn't even control himself, he didn't want to know what he would be like.

"The Emperor took everything you were, twisted it into something spiteful and hateful, then locked it away behind a mask. If we were all you had, you sacrificed us for that."

Edited 2017-04-22 21:51 (UTC)

The Force truly was powerful in their family. Luke's raw power was nothing to dismiss and Anakin no longer felt sure that a true, even battle would go in his favor. Teaching was only part of the equation; what really made a Force user was power or the potential for it.

Chest rising and falling rapidly, his breathing shallow, Anakin made a low sound in his throat, curiously close to a whine. This nightmare was worse by far than all of those that had preceded it. He knew it was real - unalterable - and his stomach churned at the thought of everything he had done to get to this place.

"I must have...made a mistake. Somewhere." yes, a fixable error, "I'll find it, Luke. You won't...grow up away from me. You won't lose your mother."

His eyes narrowed with fear and hate - all the emotions a Jedi should abstain from: "Then I will kill him. You will not be sacrificed."

Anakin would enjoy that task - perhaps too much for the health of his mind and heart.

Edited 2017-04-22 22:00 (UTC)

Luke let out a breath at that.

"Is that supposed to be comforting?"

There was more snark in his tone than he wanted -- consequences of your best friend being a smuggler, he supposed. But he wasn't going to go back on that statement. Besides, the scaffolding was still creaking around them dangerously, and he suspected if they didn't vacate soon, it wouldn't end well for them. He paused before jumping off, however, glancing back at his father.

"If that's the answer you take from this, then I don't think you really understand how much your actions affected everyone, not just myself and mother."

Because it wasn't just about them; the whole galaxy suffered because his father had been scared. He had almost hoped that he just got too angry, that Palpatine got his claws on him and drove him insane with rage. That would have been easier to deal with than knowing fear had such a tight grip on his father's heart, and probably still did at his point in time.

"Not yet. Not right now." but it would be. His eyes shone with an unnerving, feverish light and he sought Luke's reaction. While he wasn't expecting exuberant joy, he was taken aback by how his son rebuked him.

And why did he sound like Padmé? Was this what he could expect from her too? Anakin growled as the scaffolding swayed ominously before one of its tethers snapped. He leapt to the ground just in time, landing less gracefully than he would customarily.

"What's good for you - for Padmé - will be good for everyone. I want to make the galaxy safe! It can be ours!"

No, he really was making it worse, wasn't he? But this was the sort of fanaticism that Palpatine had instilled in him. His fear had been ample breeding ground for the Sith's logic - or lack thereof.

"Don't worry about Palpatine. I will kill him - I was planning on doing that anyway! I'll just do it sooner." he smiled hopefully, "Then I'll be there when you're born and I'll take care of you and your mother. She just... She needs me there."

He hadn't been there for his mother and if he had been, she would have survived. Or so his mind supplies.

Dammit--! Luke let out an alarmed noise as the scaffolding fell, tucking and rolling as soon as he hit the ground in an effort to get away. That was too close; what was it with Sith Lords and their need to destroy vital footing?!

He was still going on like that too, and Luke felt his hands curling into fists in annoyance. No, no; he wasn't going to get angry. He wanted to because his father just didn't seem to get it, but he wasn't going to get angry.

"Do you think we wanted that?!" he snapped, shooting Anakin a glare. "Did you once stop to think that maybe trying to deliver a galaxy to your family wasn't a good idea?! I just wanted a father; I wanted the image of the brave Jedi Knight that everyone told me you were to be real, not this!"

He gestured to Anakin, repeatedly telling himself not to get angry, do not get angry, but it was really hard right now. How could anyone think any of that was a good idea? How?!

Your father is ridiculously stubborn, Luke. He barely blinked when the scaffolding fell, though, oddly, he kept himself well clear of the disaster area. How has he made it this far?! What has the Force done in fathering him?!

His expression fell, hurt and angered by the aggressive words. "I have been dreaming about your mother dying for months, Luke. What would you expect me to do?! Sit around and wait for it to happen?!"

Anakin wanted to be everything Luke said. He wanted to be his son's hero, his father, his protector. But how exactly did he go about doing that when he had no example himself?

"I'm not sure...how to be a father." an eyebrow rose at the this comment, "What do you see? What am I to you?"

Luke's gaze met his from the other side of the scaffolding rubble, and his expression fell, taking his shoulders down with it.

"...all I see is a black mask that haunts my dreams every night."

Because nothing spelled trauma like watching your mentor being cut down, like being hunted by the man that killed him, having your hand cut off, and then being told that you were related to that dark creature. His prosthetic flexed absently at the reminder, mechanical in its movement.

"A black mask?" Anakin was genuinely puzzled at that image, wondering over its origin, "Luke, I don't understand." his words trailed off as he caught sight of the hand's movement. While the prosthetic was very good - more realistic than his own by far - he could tell from the movement that it wasn't natural.

"You lost your hand." just as he had. He raised his right hand, stripping off the glove to reveal the metal fingers underneath.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "Thanks for that."

Bitter? A little; who could blame him though. At least he saw for himself that his right hand was also missing, just like he suspected. It didn't make him feel any better, but at least he knew.

"I did that?" he grimaced, a muscle twitching in his cheek. Should he apologize? It would sound flat - wrong - since he didn't know what led to the loss.

"Count Dooku did this to me." he shrugged a shoulder, "I shouldn't have been so reckless dueling him."

Did that sound familiar?

"Dooku?"

He had talked to a guy named Dooku on the network before... was he another Sith Lord? Just how many of them were there?

"...great," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "I spoke with him before. I hung up after he recognized my name."

But he knew that wouldn't be enough, especially if he was someone that was at odds with his father.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject