Chapter Text
Soaring through the sky, the X-wing rumbled as it finally broke the atmosphere, the foggy sky of Dagobah disappearing and the blackness of space emerging.
Luke sighed as he recounted what had just happened, what he had just heard.
Darth Vader is his father
He already knew it was true, but to actually have it confirmed was a whole other story. It makes his head swirl with so many questions that he can feel the oncoming headache. Groaning, he sat back in his seat, tilting his head up as he watched the stars twinkling like little bright dots on a black sheet of paper. He couldn't help but wonder what his father was doing right now, probably on his flagship looking for him.
Through their shared Force bond, Vader has been bashing on his shields since Bespin, but lately, it's become more persistent, like there is now a sense of urgency. Although Luke only pushed against his father's shields occasionally, he could sense his father's behavior change. He could feel his emotions leaking through the shields his father usually kept so well-placed. He could feel the usual possessive feeling coming down the bond, but there was something else.
Fear...
He had felt fear from his father before, but it was extremely uncommon, though Luke suspects there has been more, but his shields were too strong for him to feel it. He only felt this kind of fear twice throughout the time he's known about the bond. The first was when he fell from the gantry back at Bespin, and the second was when he was nearly blown up by that blast from that strange-looking staff all those weeks ago.
A fear not for himself, but for Luke, for his son. It was during these moments and the healing of that red kyber crystal that he truly knew there was a chance. A chance to save his father from the Dark Side.
A whirling sound brought him out of his thoughts. [Hey, can you quit sky walking and finally put in the coordinates.] Artoo sarcastically beeped. Luke rolled his eyes and focused back on the controls. "Alright, Artoo, I'm on it; you can calm your circuits now." he snapped back jokingly as he began putting in the coordinates to where Home One was hidden.
However, before he could put in the last digit, the X-wing jolted violently. The buttons began flashing, and the scanners flickered into static. Luke narrowed his eyes as he scanned over the controls. "Artoo, what's going on?" Luke called out to the astromech. Artoo beeped out a series of curses, running through the systems to find the source of the issue. [Error: Unknown calibration disturbing navigation systems.]
Luke pressed several buttons to rerun the X-wing before finally everything turned off. He was about to call out to Artoo again, but everything turned back on, making Luke sigh in relief. "Great job Artoo!" Luke called out, but he didn't get a response.
"Artoo?" Luke asked worriedly, looking back to where the droid rested in his fighter. Artoo always responded to him, no matter how stupid the question was. He wouldn't leave him hanging, especially after a minor hiccup in the system. Hell, the little droid wouldn't even follow his order to stay with the ship, for which Luke was secretly grateful. Artoo had always been protective of him since after the Death Star, refusing to return to Leia and never being far from him, even giving him the nickname "Ani." It was a strange nickname, but Luke didn't mind; in fact, he quite liked it. His quietness was unusual, considering the droid was never afraid to voice his concerns.
"Artoo, buddy, are you okay?" Luke called out again, concern layering his voice. Suddenly, the fighter rumbled and began moving forward again. Luke looked down at the controls before finally looking ahead, eyes widening at the sight in front of him.
A giant blood-red diamond-shaped structure that definitely wasn't there before appeared in front of the fighter. Shocked, it took Luke a couple of seconds to realize he was being drawn towards it. Finally being knocked back into his senses, Luke hurriedly grabbed the control stick to try maneuvering out of its way. It wouldn't even budge. Luke stared up as the structure began splitting in two, revealing a bright light. He raised his arm to try and shield his eyes from the near agonizing brightness.
Luke felt a small ounce of fear as he realized there was no way out, but the Force was calm. It almost felt like it was luring him towards it, and the Force had never led him astray so far. The Force was his ally, and he trusted it as much as he trusted his friends, maybe even more. If it's the Will of the Force that wants him to go this path, then he will follow it.
So, as the X-wing travels into the bright light within the structure, he takes a deep breath. 'Looks like I'm going on another Jedi adventure...' He thought to himself.
When Luke opened his eyes again, he was not expecting what he was seeing.
Around his X-wing, a lush green mountainside scaled to the side of him, with even more mountains surrounding him far off in the distance. Bewildered, he checked his controls. Everything was fine, but for some reason, nothing seemed to work. He tried turning them back on, but it did nothing. Frowning, he looked over the scanners, the air was breathable and there didn't seem to be any other problems. It did show that there was another ship not that far away; maybe whoever is on it knows what's going on.
Hesitantly, Luke opened up the cockpit, removed his helmet and orange flight suit, and climbed over to where he could stand on top of the fighter. He scanned the horizon, becoming even more confused by the second. Floating mountains and strange-looking plants aside, the Force felt...weird. Not bad weird but also not good weird, just...weird. It also felt powerful, very powerful. It reminded him of Yoda or Vader, but this was neither Light nor Dark; it was just the Force.
Sighing, he crouched next to Artoo, trying to figure out what happened to his friend. "Artoo? Are you alright, buddy?" He gave the droid a couple of firm pats on his dome, but it did nothing. He seemed to be turned off but completely fine, just like his X-wing. He knew it would be useless to try fixing Artoo; whatever was happening was out there somewhere. So, taking a deep breath, he jumped down from where he was and followed where the Force was leading him.
He walked for what seemed like five minutes before he suddenly came across a cliff. Curious, he looked down and was surprised to see a ship. 'This must be the ship that was detected earlier' Luke thought. It didn't look like any Imperial ship he'd seen or read about; its red markings definitely screamed away from the classic white, black, and sometimes grey that Imperial shuttles had. It also couldn't be of the Rebellion; it would have been way too out in the open, even if it had cloaking. The only possible explanation would be that it is a Republic ship, but it seemed unlikely considering how new it looked.
Crouching down, he observed it from the top of the cliff and watched as the ramp of the ship extended down, and three figures stepped out. Not really being able to see who they were, Luke decided to scale the cliff. It wasn't that hard, using the Force to help him move down it effectively and quickly. He made sure to slam down his shields and curl his Force signature into himself just in case; he didn't know these people and didn't know if they were trained Force-sensitive, but he could sense that they definitely had the Force. He crept through the plants, slowly approaching the ship and its passengers before stopping at the tree line and silently watched.
The figures turned out to be two adult male humans and one younger female Torgruta; he was even more surprised when he saw the lightsaber hilts on their belts.'What are they thinking?! Having their lightsabers out like that is practically painting a target on yourself!’ Luke thought bitterly, and then a shuddering thought came to him. 'Are they Sith?' but they didn't feel like Sith; in fact, they hardly felt dark at all.
"Hey!" yelled the Torgruta, startling Luke a bit, afraid he was caught. But she merely pointed off into the distance. "I saw something, a reflection, up on the hill." she said, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"I don't see anything." The man in the lighter robes responded, and Luke swore he recognized the voice.
Luke narrowed his eyes. 'Did they also just appear here?’ Seeing as they didn't seem to be a threat yet, Luke decided to introduce himself.
Taking a deep breath, he cautiously approached them. "Uhhh, Hey," he said with an awkward smile. The three whipped around, hands over their sabers, and set into a defensive stance. Luke raised his arms, but still having his focus on his own saber which was clipped to his own belt, just in case. "Woah, chill! Did you guys also appear here too?" Luke asked cautiously. The others looked at each other warily. Luke couldn't really blame them for that.
"Yeah, we did." said the man in the dark robes, and although he got out of his defensive stance, he was still clearly cautious of Luke from the hostility in his voice. Luke felt something strange about him; he was incredibly powerful in the Force, brighter than a supernova. He also felt drawn to him, like a sense of connection or belonging with the man. He looked at them curiously, shaking his head to eliminate the sensation. "So I'm guessing you don't know a way off this rock." Luke asked.
The man in the lighter uniform stepped forward, and Luke felt like the bottom of his stomach just dropped. 'Ben?' he thought to himself. How could that be possible? He didn't even like the older man that Luke knew; he didn't even look dead! "Unfortunately, no." Obi-Wan responded, a tint of annoyance in his voice. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi. This here is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker." He gestured over to the man in darker robes, who now had his arms crossed over his chest. "And his padawan Ahsoka Tano." gesturing over to the Torgruta, who looked at Luke with suspension.
Luke could practically feel himself becoming pale. This couldn't be possible; none of this should be! But as Obi-Wan spoke the words, the Force gave the undeniable chime of truth. That was... That was his father, the real Anakin Skywalker. He could see the resemblance between himself and his father now, the only noticeable difference being their height.
He could also feel the beginnings of a Force bond being made between the two men, still unrealized on the other sides.
"Hey buddy, you okay?" asked Ahsoka flatly. Luke looked back at them with a guarded look. "None- None of this should be possible... you guys, you can't be..." the words died on his tongue. This shouldn't be real, it can't be. But it is; the Force is singing with truth and anticipation, just like Bespin.
"Oh, it seems we have a fan, " his father said with a smug smirk. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, which had an underlying humor to it, while Ahsoka giggled. Luke couldn't help but be awed by these three. Ben and his father didn't look like they were ready to attack each other. His father was practically the complete opposite of Vader, and he apparently had a student of his own.
“None of this makes sense, you guys are supposed to be…” He stopped as he processed what he was about to say. Kriff, how was he supposed to tell them this? One of them is dead, maybe even two, and the other is a Sith Lord.
"Suppose to be what?" Obi-Wan asked, all three of them now looking at him with suspicion. He thought about it, but if these really were them from the past, maybe he could change things. But he felt a cold feeling of denial; the Force didn't want him to.
"I don't think I'm supposed to say." He responded, trying to keep the regret from leaking into his voice. "And why is that?" Ahsoka asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Umm, well, I think I'm from another time, and I don't want it to mess up the timeline." He responded awkwardly, giving a shy smile. He got the appropriate reaction of being looked at like he was crazy. "Time travel doesn't exist." Anakin put bluntly, although seemingly slightly amused. He would have believed the same if it hadn't been for the two people in front of him who clearly were alive and a Jedi. "But Master, I didn't sense a lie, and besides, what about this place." She gestured around them. "It feels really weird, almost alive even." She said, a note of awe in her tone.
Obi-Wan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't believe you've given us your name yet." he said, emphasizing the "your" part. "Luke, Luke...Solo." He responded. 'Han probably wouldn't mind me borrowing his last name.' He thought to himself. Anakin then took a step forward, and Luke couldn't help but be reminded of Vader in such a manner. "Alright, Solo, then tell us." He spoke in a cocky manner. "Tell us how you're from another time?" He smirk.
Luke scratched the back of his head. "You guys are in the middle of the Clone Wars, right?" He asked, hoping Leia's history lessons were correct. They all nodded. "Well, for me, the Clone Wars ended over two decades ago. I was actually born around the end of it, I think." He responded. They all looked at each other with surprise, most likely feeling the truth in his words.
Luke opened his mouth to speak when Anakin suddenly jerked. "Did you guys hear that?" he asked curiously. Luke tilted his head, and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka exchanged glances. "I didn't hear anything." Obi-Wan remarked. Luke felt a sudden chill down his spine, sensing a presence behind him occupied by a voice.
"Are you the One?"
Luke turned around and nearly froze at the sight before him. A woman as tall, if not taller than Vader, stood before them; she wore a beautiful white gown with golden aesthetics, her mint green hair flowed even though there was no wind, and her figure seemed to glow. The Force around her was bright, the Light Side practically shining off her like a white dwarf.
Despite this, Luke still felt intimidated by her. He backpedaled until he nearly bumped into his father, who chuckled at his startled expression. Luke gave him a deadpan look in return but couldn't help the small surge of euphoria inside at the sound of his father's laugh.
“Hello.” Obi-Wan said, studying the woman in front of him. “Who are you?” Anakin asked sassily, putting his fists to his belt. Luke grimaced at the resemblance to his Sith counterpart.
"I am Daughter." She answered, her voice seemingly echoing. Luke raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, not even realizing he mimicked Anakin. "Are you the One?" she asked again, stepping forward. "Uh, the one what?" Anakin asked, clearly confused and probably annoyed. "I will take you to him." She spoke, ignoring Anakin's question.
"Him who?" Ahsoka asked intuitively. "Did you bring us here?" Obi-Wan asked almost accusingly. Luke narrowed his eyes, wondering what all of this could mean. He just had to be patient, and hopefully, answers would be revealed. "Only he can help you. There is little time, follow me. We must have shelter by nightfall." She spoke, turning and walking away without answering the others' questions.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. "And we thought this planet was strange." Anakin mumbled. "Get a load of this one?" He said sassily. Luke and Ahsoka smirked while Obi-Wan groaned, "We'll be fine as long as we stay together." Obi-Wan said, then looked at him. "You better come with us, Luke; we don't know this place, and who knows what else could be here." He said calmly, just like how Ben would respond to his questions. Luke gave a small smile and nodded, turning as they followed the Daughter to wherever she was leading them.
They walked across a path on the mountainside, batting low-hanging branches out of the way. Walking beside his father, Luke could feel the others staring at him. He also could feel them reaching out to him in the Force. He rolled his eyes as he doubled his shields. The last thing he needed right now was a mind integration. 'Force, I get that they don't trust me, but could they at least save this for when we get somewhere more secure?' He thought bitterly.
"Have you noticed the seasons seem to change with the time of day?" Obi-Wan asked. Luke looked around and realized that they did; the plants were much more vibrantly green than when they arrived, signifying summer. "Yeah." Anakin responded warily. "And there are no animals." Ahsoka said softly. Luke also noticed that. He never really encountered animals while at rebel bases, except for that one time he had an in-person encounter with a Wampa back on Hoth. Still, even on planets like Yavin IV, there was the occasional rodent in the cafeteria or avian creature in the hanger.
'This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder.' Luke thought. "The Force is strong here; I've never sensed a place like this before." He remarked, voice laced with awe. That got the other's attention. "You're trained in the Force?" Ahsoka asked, her suspicion rising. Luke raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I thought that was obvious?" He asked, gesturing to the lightsaber on his belt. "Apologies, we've just encountered people who stole lightsabers and would sometimes wear them as trophies." Obi-Wan said. Luke nodded, remembering when Han told him about the one time when Boba Fett chased him with a lightsaber.
"Though I do agree with you, Luke. This place, an intersection unlike anything I've felt before, be wary." He said cautiously. Luke glanced over at his father, only to see his father looking at him with narrow but curious eyes. Seemingly startled that they made eye contact, Anakin sped up a bit. "Excuse me. Who are you taking us to?" Anakin impatiently asked the Daughter. "To the Father, of course." She answered over her shoulder. "Of course." Ahsoka remarked sarcastically. "And what exactly are you?" Luke asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.
"We are the ones who guard the power. We are the middle, the beginning, and the end." She responded. Luke groaned quietly, and Anakin said sarcastically, "Glad she cleared that up for us.". Force, this woman was giving him a headache; he missed Leia and her no-nonsense attitude. He smiled slightly at the thought of her. Leia, his best friend, his sister. He was still trying to wrap his head around that fact. He also decided to ignore what happened that day on Hoth.
Luke looked around in awe as the green plants began turning rusty red, signifying fall. A small part of him tensed as he felt the Force shift. Glancing up at the slight sound of rumbling, he gasped as he saw that a part of the mountain was coming down. "Hey! Look out!" Anakin yelled before leaping forward and pushing Luke and the Daughter out of the way.
Luke tumbled onto the ground, nearly falling off the ledge. He quickly got up, looking up at the rock slide that now blocked the path back to the ships. He looked back to see Anakin about to help the Daughter up, but she swiftly got up and batted his hand away. "It is forbidden for you to touch me." She snapped, the echo in her voice getting deeper. "Sorry. I was just saving your life." Anakin responded, raising his arms in a slightly offended manner.
"That was my brother's work. You are in great danger." She said worryingly before a cold expression crossed her face. "Wait for me. Do not leave this place." She commanded before turning away and walking down the path. Luke took a step forward "Hey. Wait." he called out. Just then Anakin's com beeped.
"Anakin, are you there?" Obi-Wan's voice came over the coms "Are you and Luke alright?" he asked. Anakin sighed and looked over at Luke, who was patting dust off him, and he merely shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah." he said into the com, "But our friend here has RUN OFF!" saying the last two words loudly, clearly annoyed. "Go back to the ship and try sending another distress call. I'll follow her and find out how to get off this rock." he said while glancing over to where the Daughter went.
"And if this is a trap?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin and Luke exchanged looks. "Then I'm not gonna wait around to find out." He responded almost teasingly. "Anakin, stop. Wait for us to find another way around and meet you." Obi-Wan demanded. Before he could say anything else, Anakin shut off his com.
Anakin looked at Luke and gave him a mischievous grin. "How about we catch with the weird Force lady, huh, new guy?" He asked amusingly. Luke returned the look "You read my mind." he responded before both of them started running down the stone trail.