"Like hell," Han snarled, fighting against Luke and Leia as they tried to hold him back.

"Han, it's okay," Luke tried to console the older man only to have a heated glare directed his way.

"It is not okay, Luke. It is the opposite of okay. You're telling me you're gonna go off with your Sith father over here to kill the kriffing Emperor, and that Chewie, Lando and I are just gonna stay here and twiddle our thumbs? You could all die! And last time I checked, Vader wasn't an ally of ours!" Han screeched, his face steaming and red.

"Han, you won't be doing nothing, you'll be providing our escape," Leia pleaded, blinking desperately up at the furious Corellian.

"Not much escaping going on if you're dead," Han grumbled, but his voice gave way to the true fear he held. "I can't...I can't lose you two."

"And you won't," Luke whispered, brushing back a strand of Han's hair and smiling up at him. "We'll be fine."

Leia looked over at her brother and felt the lie through the Force. He was very good at pretending he was confident and Leia was shocked to find herself looking through it. Fortunately however, Han slumped, sated by Luke's words and sighing lightly. "I still ain't gonna sit here, that's for sure. Even if I am your damn getaway driver. I won't be playing dejarik while you two are out risking your lives."

The twins were silent for a moment before they both perked up in remembrance. "Han, we actually do have something for you to do," Leia said with a small smirk.

Han raised an eyebrow, suspicious of Leia's smug look. "Okay, what is it?"

"The droids," Luke said perkily, watching Han's face mold into a scowl.

"The droids?"

"They were taken to be scanned for information from the Rebellion. If you could get them, remove their restraining bolts and bring them back to the ship, then we wouldn't have to worry about that information getting out," Leia said with a smile.

"Plus, Artoo and Threepio are our friends. They've saved our lives countless of times and we owe them a rescue," Luke pleaded with big blue eyes. Han swore and looked away from Luke before he gave in.

But it was too late to look away. Han rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Where are they?"

The twins shared a triumphant grin before replying in unison, "On the Executor,"

Han groaned, thinking about having to go back on a docked Imperial Super Star Destroyer in the midst of a major battle. Just great. All for the sentient garbage disposal and Goldenrod. "You two are so lucky I like you," Han complained to the grinning Skywalkers.

"We'll meet you back here afterwards, we promise," Leia said softly, her smile fading into something more wistful.

"Just...stay safe, the both of you."

"The same to you," Luke said with an equally sad smile. Neither twin could bear to see Han hurt again, the carbonite had been hard enough... After a silence, Han rushed forward and engulfed both Luke and Leia in a tight hug.

"Those damn droids better be worth it," Han laughed through a sudden onslaught of tears, the Corellian hastily wiping at his eyes as he pulled out of the hug.

"This isn't goodbye you nerfherder so stop making it feel like one," Leia said through her own tears, the princess turning away to sniffle lightly.

"We love you, Han," Luke said, a tear slipping down his dirty cheek before he grabbed Leia's hand and walked back towards their parents with her. Neither twin wanted to acknowledge Han's eyes following them all the way away, his fear prominent in the Force. It took Han a moment to collect himself before he finally turned towards Lando and Chewie to inform them of their next mission. He couldn't afford to get distracted.

"So which one of the twins is he dating again?" Vader whispered to Padmé as they watched the emotional departure between their children and the smuggler.

Padmé shrugged. "They wouldn't tell me," she paused, smiling in a teasing matter and feeling as if she was with her old husband again, "But my bet's on Luke."

"Oh definitely."

***

"So where are we going again?" Leia asked, feeling uncomfortable without a weapon in her hands as Darth Vader walked mere feet in front of her.

Vader shushed her with a wave of her hand, making the princess scowl, as he scanned the perimeter.    

"Anything?" Padmé whispered to him.

"Nothing that I can sense. All troops should be outside dealing with the rebels. But I'm not sure how long I can be missing without an officer coming to find me," Vader explained, his hand flexing over the saber on his hip.

"Then we'll have to make this fast," Padmé suggested. Vader turned to her with a nod and a small, invisible smile behind his mask. He quickly gestured Luke and Leia out before him, his eyes riveted on their every move.

The twins were more than cautious however, both of them scanning every corner and on high alert for any assailants. They couldn't afford to be caught, not while the Emperor was at a disadvantage by not knowing that they were coming. The combination of all four of them shielding provided them just enough cover to get to Palpatine's throne room and take him by surprise.

It was their only chance.

Now out of hearing range of their parents, Leia began muttering under her breath to her brother, "I still don't trust this Luke. It could be a trap. Vader can't just...change like this, can he?"

Luke bit his lip and looked over his shoulder to see Vader and Padmé clearing the halls and trailing after the heels of their kids while simultaneously directing them towards their destination.

"He's trying. I mean, I doubt he would risk all this just for a trap, right?" Luke sighed, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not erasing all his wrongdoings and obviously the Alliance will have to put him on trial for his war crimes, but he is our father. And Padmé's our mother. They would've been able to raise us if it wasn't for Palpatine and his manipulations. I know it's against the Jedi's code to seek revenge, but..."

Leia sensed Luke's hesitation and finished for him, "But the Emperor deserves it."

Luke let out a faint chuckle. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Turn here," Vader said abruptly, pushing in front of Luke and Leia to move down a corridor and approach a large door with a scan lock on the side. Vader placed his gloved hand near it and let his robotic fingers tap in the code so nauseatingly fast that neither Luke, Leia, nor Padmé were able to catch it.

The door slid open and Vader slinked inside, his cape flaring out behind him as he peered suspiciously around his personal quarters. As personal as his quarters got that was. A pod sat in the corner of the room, partially opened and displaying a pure white, sterile inside with dangling wires and other machinery. A desk stacked with datapads sat in the center of the  room beside a fresher that had obviously been distastefully placed due to Vader's condition, and a door sat beside it that led into a massive combat room stocked with weapons of all kinds, training droids and holos.

"So that's where we're getting weapons from," Luke said in astonishment, his feet numbingly dragging him around the room as he took it all in.

Leia however, walked towards the pod and patted the thick metal with curiosity. "You sleep in this thing?" Her tone was mocking and she cast her eyes towards Vader with little care in her expression.

A staticky sigh left Vader and he contemplated ignoring the princess as he began stomping towards his training area.

"Leia, let's be serious now," Padmé chided, her eyebrows raising towards her daughter as Leia simply scoffed.

Vader waved it off, not interested in furthering his child's anger towards him. Leia had every right to hold a grudge against him, but he still couldn't fight how much it stung. All that time not knowing she existed only to find her and then have her hate him...

"Yes child, I do sleep in it. It removes my mask and allows me to breathe pressurized air," Vader explained with a tone of hatred towards the machine deep in his voice.

Leia blinked in surprise at actually getting an answer and nodded slowly, rubbing the back of her neck as she tried to look anywhere but Vader's eyes.

Padmé watched the interaction with weary eyes, knowing that the Anakin she had married would have loved Leia with all his heart, teaching her mechanics and attempting an intricate hairstyle in her long brown locks before offhandedly commenting how much she looked like her mother. The thought made her warm, but she knew it would never be a reality after what they were about to go through. Mother, father, son, and daughter would all be equally war-torn and living a life devoid of many smiles no matter whose favor the war turned over to. They had all lost too much. And after everything Vader had done in the past twenty years, there was no way the Alliance was going to accept a simple apology from the man. He would be locked up for the rest of his life.

Or executed.

Padmé liked to think that her diplomatic skills would be able to save her husband from such a fate, but another part of her deep down wondered if defending him was even worth it. He had killed so many in his time as a Sith...

"Mom?" Luke asked softly, waving his hand in Padmé's face.

Smiling at the name, Padmé put her hand on her son's shoulder. "Sorry dear. Thinking."

Luke smiled back in understanding before reaching up and handing her a blaster, a new saber for himself already in his other hand. "I know you have your vibroblade, but father thinks extra protection can't be too bad of an idea."

"And I agree," Padmé said, holstering the blaster into her belt and looking up to see Vader sifting through a myriad of weapon choices. Leia was magnetized towards the wall of blasters and traced her fingers around the curvature of each one. She went to grab one she took a liking to just as a gloved hand appeared from behind her and gripped her wrist. She whirled around in confusion to see Vader looming over her and staring down at her with his eye lenses.

"Not that," He said in his deep baritone. "No child of mine will rely solely on a blaster. Jedi blood runs through your veins, Leia. A saber will be more natural in your hands."

Leia angrily yanked her wrist out of Vader's hand and the man willingly let go, guilty that he had unintentionally hurt her. "Don't touch me," She rubbed her wrist absentmindedly and focused a glare up at the Sith. "I've never used a lightsaber. It would be smarter to give me something I'm more familiar with."

Luke, noticing the dilemma, walked up to the two cautiously. "Or...we could compromise? Leia gets a blaster and a saber. Just like Padmé."

Leia and Vader turned equal annoyed looks towards Luke--well as annoyed as Vader's mask could look--but slumped in frustrated acceptance. "Fine," Leia gritted, snapping the blaster she had gone for originally off the wall and powering up the power pack.

Vader moved towards the wall beside the blasters and grumpily picked up a small hilted saber, almost the perfect size for Leia's hands. Padmé, curious, blinked as she moved forward. "That saber looks familiar..."

There was a tense silence.

The twins shared a look of trepidation.

"It..." Vader's hands clenched. "It was Ahsoka's."

"Ahsoka Tano?" Leia inquired.

Vader's mask snapped towards the princess, eyes incredulous behind the ocular lenses. "How do you know that name?"

Leia stepped back at the sudden fire in Vader's voice, the air around them growing thicker and harder to breathe as Vader's murky Force-presence swamped them. "She was a spy for the Rebellion, mostly undercover work. I met her once and never saw her again. Why?"

"She was Anakin's Padawan," Padmé said morbidly, the image of the cheeky, smiling fourteen-year old Togruta girl passing in her memories. Ahsoka had looked up to Anakin so much. When she left the order, Anakin had been destroyed. To think that the young girl had gone off on her own and became a spy working secretly for the Rebellion and had feared constantly for her life under the Empire's persecution of all Force-sensitives law made Padmé shudder. Ahsoka was more than capable of taking care of herself, but she deserved more than to just fight wars her whole life...to have those she looked up to betray her...

"Master Yoda told me what a Padawan was. A Jedi apprentice. I never knew you had one," Luke commented, his blue eyes lighting up in curiosity. However, his light vanished when Vader remained silent, visibly distressed at Luke's inquiry.

"Ahsoka left the order when she was sixteen due to a false accusation against her and her loss of trust for the Jedi Order. Your father never saw her again," Padmé explained, her eyes melancholy as she found herself unable to look away from the saber in Vader's hand.

"So then how did you get her..." Luke trailed off, his mouth sealing closed as he realized that his father's old padawan had seen him one last time, only it obviously hadn't had been a particularly happy reunion.

"I was foolish back then. Hellbent on believing that anyone opposing me was in the wrong. Including Ahsoka. I could...I could feel the grief radiating off of her. She so desperately didn't want to believe that I had turned, but she had to face the truth one way or another. When the building collapsed...I could only assume she hadn't made it. That brief time was the first time I had felt her Force signature in over twenty years. It's gone back to being dormant ever since we fought," Vader said lowly.

"I'm sorry," Leia said with genuine remorse.

Vader looked up at his family for a moment before whirling on his heel and strolling out of the weapons room. "Come. We have no time to waste. Dwelling on the past does one no good anyways,"

Padmé took a deep breath at Vader's avoidance of the subject, but she figured it had to be at least a bit of a good sign to get him to open up about such sore a subject.

"So...did Ahsoka die?" Luke whispered to Padmé as they strolled quickly after Vader and his ground-eating stride.

Padmé turned to see Luke and Leia looking up at her with wide eyes, their curiosity peaked. "I...I wasn't there. Ahsoka is very good at staying hidden, so she could be alive. But...if she's dropped contact with the Rebellion, I'm not sure."

"Wish I had known her," Luke muttered, only partially reassured by Leia taking his hand in hers.

"Like your father said, don't dwell too hard on it. It doesn't concern you two and Ahsoka's decisions were all made with a purpose. What matters now is that you two both have weapons and are ready to face the Emperor," Padmé said.

Luke held up the saber he had chosen, fiddling with the activation plate and feeling comfort in the handle grip that was different yet similar to his old saber. "I haven't fought with my prosthetic hand yet," Luke said self-consciously.

"And I haven't fought at all," Leia teased reassuringly, nudging Luke in the side. "You'll be fine. Just, let me know if I'm doing something wrong, yeah?"

Padmé chuckled. "The Force will aid the both of you as long as you focus on it. I have faith in both of your abilities. Just be careful with your limits. You're mainly healed, but are still recovering from the Force shock from earlier."

"Padmé! Luke! Leia!" Vader called from the corner, peering from outside the quarters and gesturing frantically for them to follow him.

The trio quickly rushed ahead to catch up with the Sith, unaware that they had fallen behind. The moment they approached, Vader snapped at them, "This is not a game, we must move quickly or risk being seen. The battle's reaching a climax and we only have so much time before the Emperor is evacuated as per protocol and we lose our chance."

"Calm, Anakin. You must give your children the benefit of the doubt, they want to know more about you. The Emperor must be stopped, yes, but not at the risk of you losing any form of relationship you can form with them," Padmé said gently, staring down the taller man with full courage.

Vader clenched his fists, contemplating why he had gone along with this terrible plan in the first place before finally nodding. "Yes, right. Fine. But at least try to keep up."

"We're sorry," Luke and Leia said in unison, the two looking at each other with wide eyes as if just realizing how much they acted like twins without noticing.

Padmé fought a small smile at the scene before smiling and motioning for Vader to lead the way.

They managed yet again to not run into troopers, which was painfully suspicious. The Force, however, was silent and lacking of any warning. Despite it all, the Skywalker's all felt a pit of dread in their stomachs and an uncomfortable unease about the coming times. They were taking Palpatine by surprise. Four against one--albeit a very powerful one--was good odds in their favor even though they were risking it all for this one opportunity.

'Stay with me,' Leia sent to Luke, who looked over at her in surprise.

'Of course,' Luke sent back, watching Leia smile softly as his response settled warmly into her thoughts.

"We're here," Vader droned, yanking his saber off his belt. Luke, Leia, and Padmé followed suit and each took a deep breath, the Force encircling them protectively.

"No turning back now," Luke muttered.

"May the Force be with us," Padmé responded just as Vader moved towards the sliding door guarded by two red Imperial guards. One guard stepped forward to inquire the reason of their visit, but a simple flick of Vader's wrist sent the two guards flying into the walls and crumpling downwards, before they could even know what was happening. Vader was viciously skilled with the Force, but they could only hope that his power combined with theirs would be enough to defeat a force like Palpatine.

They took the stairway revealed by the door the guards had been standing watch at and approached a dark room decorated intricately with Imperial flags and furniture that rivaled a palace. A sole silver chair  sat empty at the edge of the throne room, large windows donning it and providing a full view of the attack on Coruscant.

Luke contemplated questioning where the Emperor was just as a sickly chuckle echoed through the room and a cloaked figure stepped into the light to reveal the his morphed, gray-ish face turned up in a blood-curdling smirk. "I see you have brought Skywalker, Organa, and Amidala as instructed. I'm impressed, Lord Vader. I did not think you could break them so soon."

Luke shuddered at the voice that came from the Emperor's mouth, every syllable like a dart to his heart. Being in the same room as him by itself was enough to make him nauseous. He caught Leia looking pale beside him but with her hand still gripped firmly on her saber.

"It was not easy, my Master, but I have gotten them to trust me completely. They are one hundred percent loyal," Vader explained, his mental shields held tight, as per the plan, but not too tight to where Palpatine could grow suspicious.

"Good, good," He turned towards the window and gestured at the battle with a shriveled hand. "It's a great time to start training. A final test of their loyalty to me." Palpatine obviously meant for them to betray the Rebellion as a final act of dedication to his cause, but the sudden shift in the air tensed up the twins as they prepared themselves for what was about to happen.

"Actually...my Master," Vader said mockingly, his voice thick with dark warning, "Their loyalty is to me."

Vader lit  his saber with a violent hiss that seemed to echo with the anger that radiated from his Force signature. The blood red light was bright against the dark of the throne room and provided an eerie glow against Vader's suit. An iridescent golden light quickly joined it and all eyes turned to Leia, who stood confidently with the short saber blade looking almost natural in her hands. Luke immediately followed his sister's lead, pride radiating off of him, and his emerald blade joined the cacophony of colors. Padmé was last, drawing her black-edged vibroblade from its sheath and leveling it into a saber stance she had learned from Master Yoda during her exile.

It was silent except for the hum of the four blades and Palpatine took a moment to stare, not a stitch of surprise or concern showing on his face.

Then he laughed, an ugly grating sound that physically hurt the ears as it came from his mouth. "Lord Vader, you think you can fight me with a half-trained Padawan, another child with no training whatsoever, and a non Force-sensitive? Even you are not as foolish as that. Take this opportunity I'm giving you and give up this pointless crusade. Use your family's anger to turn them and help me crush the Rebellion." Palpatine remained still, but it was obvious that a saber laid calmly on his belt, easily accessible at any time.

Leia could suddenly feel the man in her head, pressing deep into her fears and angers and drawing her towards them.

"Fight it," Padmé hissed, her eyes squeezed tight in concentration. Leia blinked to see Luke the same way, his feet wavering slightly in his stance.

"Enough, Palpatine. Do not be cowardly. Fight us like the real Sith Lord you are," Vader gritted, sensing his family's pain.

Palpatine narrowed his eyes, his dark presence growing suffocating as his temper rose. "I warned you about getting too emotionally involved in Anakin Skywalker's life, Lord Vader. You will pay dearly for your mutiny."

"Is that a promise?" Vader growled, watching as the Emperor's face twisted deeper and deeper into a terrifying glare.

"You fool," the Emperor raged, his fingers crackling with lightning. Something that shouldn't have been possible.

Sidious's ignition of his saber was somehow louder, brighter, and more terrifying than Vader's, the red dark enough that it looked as if it  had collected the blood of each victim it had slaughtered.

After everything, nothing could have prepared the Skywalker family for the crumpled old man to leap down the stairs and land in a flawless saber form, his head raising to reveal his putrid yellow-red eyes and his lips curled in a snarl, barely human...

"It's a guarantee."

A/N

Oh wow, it's about to get real.

Sorry again about the wait. I really seem to be saying that a lot. XD

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed, next chapter is not the big fight, that I'm saving for two chapters after this (i know, what a cliffy). but next chap is han, lando, and chewie's spontaneous adventure to save threepio and artoo which i cannot wait to write. han's annoyance with threepio is hands down my favorite thing tbh

so there's the next two chapters (or maybe three, i'm thinking about just extending the second chap after the fight, not sure) and then an epilogue. so yay! maybe i'll finish before tlj comes out, who even knows with my busy schedule.

but yes. love you guys! you're all great for sticking with me despite my procrastination! XD

*space hugs and kisses*

May the Force be with You,

- lucky_ducky_123