Three weeks later, Luke was sparring with Anakin at the end of another one of their training sessions. Luke had advanced rather rapidly, though he was still far from perfect. The other masters, having noticed how he was quickly gaining ground in his Djem So training, had offered to teach Luke their own mastered styles as well. Even Windu had offered in passing in one of the Temple's halls to teach Luke his own self-created style of Vaapad, though Luke had the suspicion it was only because Yoda suggested he did. Either way, Luke had accepted his offer, and started training with Windu. At first the air between the two had been very tense, with Windu watching him closely with obvious reluctance and mistrust. However, Luke had noticed that Windu was gradually warming up to him and he was pleased he was getting on the Council Member's good side.

Between the lessons, Luke had spent time with Anakin whenever he wasn't with Sidious, and they even went flying again when they had the time. A few times Luke had also gone with Anakin to see Padmé again, and Luke had definitely enjoyed the extra time he got to spend with his mother. In fact, he was looking forward to having dinner with them again tonight after Anakin got back from a meeting with Sidious this afternoon.

Now, however, Luke evenly met his father's smug gaze as they stood face to face, lightsabers out, an electric tension jumping in the air as if everything around them was holding its breath in anticipation. Neither of them broke eye contact as they slowly circled each other.

Luke moved first.

In a blinding flash of light the lightsabers clashed, Anakin quickly reacting to block Luke's advance as he moved to slip in his own retaliation. Luke slid out of his offensive stance and defended against Anakin's advance quickly, spinning away to reassess the situation. Anakin didn't give him much time to do so, advancing on Luke just as swiftly as Luke had retreated. They reengaged, the saber blades moving in rapid succession. Anakin smiled, his eyes glinting with excitement as they moved across the floor, just who was leading the duel switching back and forth at dizzying speeds. Their lightsabers locked, Anakin pressing down on Luke's blade as Luke pushed up, trapping them in a brief battle of wills. Anakin managed to push Luke back, breaking the lock and allowing the pair to return to the back and forth between defense and offense as Anakin pushed Luke back to the center of the room once again. Luke grinned at Anakin as the pace of their blows sped up a little more.

Right now their sparring sessions only consisted of using their lightsaber skills; they weren't supposed to use the Force in these duel. That way the winner could be determined solely on their skills with the lightsaber, and no other factors would come into play. So far, Luke hadn't won a single one of their sparring sessions, but he planned on this particular duel ending differently.

Once again their lightsabers locked, and they pushed against each other.

"Well, you're definitely getting better, Luke," Anakin told him with a smile, still pushing against Luke to break the lock.

"I try," Luke responded, keeping his expression perfectly smooth.

"But not good enough to best me," Anakin chuckled as he slid his saber lower, dodging Luke's descending blade and disarming him with a flick of his wrist. He held the blade up at Luke's chest for a moment before chuckling and dropping the humming blade, calling Luke's fallen lightsaber to his hand via the Force. He handed Luke his lightsaber as Anakin put his own up. "But I'm sure you'll get there."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I bet I could beat you if you didn't limit the style to only Djem So."

"Ah, but that's the style you're practicing with me. I want you progressing in that form while you're here, so you're going to focus on that one in these spars," Anakin replied slyly.

Luke shook his head. "Still, I could beat you then."

"Keep telling yourself that, Luke," Anakin chuckled.

Luke shook his head, not bothering to argue with him. Glancing around, he realized the other Jedi in the room had been watching the duel with keen interest, although now they were hastily going back to their own sessions. He smiled slightly and shook his head again. "So I believe you said Padmé had dinner for us back at her apartment?" he asked quietly.

Anakin nodded. "Yeah, though I'm going to go see Palpatine before I do anything else; he said it was important. You'll have to go on ahead of me and tell her where I am."

Luke had gotten much better at hiding his dislike of the Sith in disguise, and was rather pleased with himself for not even flinching at the mention of the chancellor. "All right, I can do that."

Anakin clapped him on the back as the two made their way out of the training room. "You are getting better, Luke, and I'm rather proud of you. It's impressive how quickly you learn."

Luke beamed at the praise. "Thank you, Anakin; that means a lot."

Anakin chuckled. "Of course, Luke, though it's only the truth."

Luke smiled. "Still, thank you."

When the two reached the hanger, Anakin sighed and took his hand away from Luke's shoulder. "I'll see you in a bit, Luke."

"All right; good luck, Anakin," Luke replied, meaning it more than Anakin probably knew he did. Anakin gave him an acknowledging nod and walked off, Luke watching him go with a small frown. He didn't like how uneasy and doubtful Anakin could get after his meetings with Palpatine. He always came back so unsure of himself and everyone around him, and Luke usually spent longer than he'd like to admit trying to reverse whatever ideas Palpatine had planted into Anakin's head. He had a feeling that this particular meeting would involve Luke somehow, though he had no clue how. With a sigh, Luke headed off in the opposite direction to make his way to the apartment.

************************************************************************************

When he arrived, Padmé rushed outside to meet him, beaming. "Luke! It's good to see you again!" Padmé exclaimed, wrapping him into a tight hug. She pulled away, a small frown appearing on her beautiful features. "Where's Anakin?"

"With Palpatine; another important meeting," Luke said with a sigh.

Padmé shook her head and the two made their way inside. "I don't like him visiting that man so much. More and more I get the feeling I shouldn't trust Palpatine, especially since he started gaining so much emergencypower...and whenever Anakin comes back from these meetings with the chancellor, there's something off about him, something wrong. I don't like it."

Luke nodded. "I know, I don't like it either. He's not exactly himself whenever he comes back from these meetings. I don't know what S—Palpatine talks about when they're together, though I can guess it isn't exactly good."

Padmé sighed. "Oh, enough of this; I've heard enough gloomy talk all day. How's your training coming, Luke?"

Luke gave her a small smile. "Really well; Anakin's a great teacher," he replied politely.

Padmé chuckled. "He could learn a few things from you, himself. Patience, for one."

Luke laughed. "Yes, I can agree with you there."

"Though with you around, I must admit, it's like having two Anakin's running around sometimes. You two are so alike, more than I think you two realize. It's rather amusing watching you two," she said with a small smile, putting her hand gingerly on the growing baby bump.

Luke nodded, wary of the turn the conversation was taking. "I've heard that quite a few times now, from several people."

Padmé smiled at him. "I think it's good for him to have a Jedi so much like him. He seems much happier whenever he's around you."

Luke blushed. "I'm not the reason; I'm sure it's more to do with the news he's going to be a father," Luke mumbled out.

Padmé laughed. "Yes, that too, but I'm sure having a Jedi to talk to is another reason."

Luke smiled. It probably was, though Luke didn't want to take all the credit either.

"Do you know when he'll be here?" Padmé asked him curiously.

"I don't know: with how Palpatine is, it could be hours."

Padmé chuckled. "I doubt it will be hours," she sighed. "Though it is probably going to be a little while."

Luke sat down on the couch. "Well, I'm not dying of starvation, I can wait," he joked.

Padmé smiled at Luke, then took the seat beside him. "You know, you have a few other similarities with Anakin I can't help but notice. I already told you that you have the exact same eyes as him, but you have the same determined set to your chin, the same hair color, the same air of command about you; it's all rather interesting...is there any chance you two are related?" she asked.

Luke hesitated to answer. Well, he is my father, which means I'm your son from the future. Hello, Mother! "It's possible," he said instead, speaking in a slow tone of voice.

Padmé gave him a look that told him she saw right through the ruse, and knew he wasn't telling her what he knew. "More of the yet to be revealed stuff?" she asked lightly.

He smiled sheepishly. "Yes, it is. I'm sorry, otherwise I would tell you; if I could I'd tell you in a heartbeat," he told her truthfully.

She nodded. "I believe you, Luke. You'll tell me when you're ready, I'm sure."

"Thank you," Luke told her sincerely.

She smiled. "It's no problem." She sighed, putting a hand on her stomach again. "It's going to get harder and harder to hide this little one from everyone."

Luke smiled, putting a hand on his mother's shoulder. "I'm sure you and Anakin will be just fine," he reassured her.

"Thank you, Luke," she told him with a bright smile.

**********************************************************************************

Anakin finally arrived, and thankfully not after too long of a wait. As he walked inside, Luke noticed a frown etched into his features as he approached the two on the couch. Anakin took in the sight of them sitting on the couch together with a distracted expression, walking up and absentmindedly kissing Padmé softly on the forehead.

"Luke, the chancellor wanted me to invite you to come visit with him sometime soon, preferably tomorrow," Anakin informed the young man as he pulled away from Padme.

Luke frowned, trying to reel in his concern. What did Sidious want with him? He hadn't even been aware that Sidious even paid him any attention after the rescue. The whole ordeal made him uncomfortable and jittery. "All right," he said, covering up the worry in his voice.

Padmé stared intently at Anakin. "Is everything all right, Anakin? You seem worried..."

Anakin nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine; I'm just thinking, that's all."

Padmé sighed. "You seem to do that a lot lately."

Anakin smiled slightly at her. "I'll be fine, Padmé. Is dinner ready?" he asked her gently.

She nodded, standing up. "Luke and I were just waiting for you. I'll go set the table," she said, slipping out of the room.

As she left Luke noticed Anakin's eyes trailing after her before he turned to Luke with a sigh. "Can I tell you something, Luke?" he asked him softly.

Luke's frown deepened a little. "Of course, Anakin, why couldn't you?"

Anakin sighed. "I took your advice—what you told me when I got my assignment—and I can't help but...well..." Anakin shook his head, sitting down on the couch next to Luke.

"What is it?" Luke pressed, curious.

"I'm noticing things...things, things I didn't notice before. There's moments when I can see flashes of malice from Palpatine, moments where I can sense he has hidden intentions and a double meaning to some of the things he says. I'm wondering if I really do know this man...he's been a good friend of mine for a very long time, and yet I can't help but wonder..." he trailed off, frowning deeply.

Luke felt a surge of hope. Was his father starting to see Sidious for what the Sith truly was?

Don't start celebrating yet, Luke, there's still a lot that could happen, he chided himself. Turning his attention back to Anakin, Luke placed a hand on his father's shoulder. "You know, Anakin, maybe you should trust the Force to guide you on this mission. Perhaps you'd be able to see things more clearly if you let it lead you to what it wants you to find," Luke suggested.

Anakin sighed. "I know, but it's just...I don't see Palpatine guilty of treason or anything. He's trying to unite the Republic, not tear it apart like the Emperor you told me about. I just don't think it's him. This whole spying thing is probably a waste of time. Maybe the man has a side to him he usually keeps control of, but I highly doubt he's planning anything." Anakin shook his head. "Things are just so messed up right now," he mumbled.

Luke felt a twinge of sympathy for him. "I know it is, Anakin, but like I said; I'm sure if you let the Force guide you, some things will start to make sense."

Anakin sighed. "All right, Luke." He stood up, smoothing out his robe. "Come on, we should head into the other room for dinner before Padmé thinks something happened to us."

Luke stood up as well, albeit reluctantly, still feeling the confusion and exhaustion that resonated from his father. "Yes, we probably should."

Anakin shook his head. "Before we do, is there anything more you can tell me yet? About the future?"

"No, not yet."

There was a brief flash of annoyance that ripped through Anakin, although he was quick to dispel it. "All right," he said stiffly, turning and walking to the dining room without another word.

Luke's frown deepened even further. Perhaps things weren't working as well as he'd thought...