Doing as Ben instructed, Luke calmed his mind, hiding away his new and astounding knowledge—a sister! A twin—though he knew he would inevitably have to do so again. He wouldn't be able to resist thinking on it further. A sister! He'd always felt there was something missing, someone he was supposed to know. Then he'd met Leia and that feeling had slowly begun to fade. She was his sister. Neither of them were quite so alone as they believed; they had each other, and they hadn't even realized it.

He knew he wouldn't be able to resist telling Leia...and he certainly wanted to tell—his thoughts caught tight there, a new line of thought forming along with a new set of questions he needed answers to.

"But Leia has no training. Now that Yoda's gone, there's no one left to train her should I fail." He watched Obi-wan carefully as he spoke. The ghostly Jedi appeared to take a deep breath; he knew where Luke was going with this. "Why not Athara? Why is she not the last hope?" Ben sighed heavily, a look of such sorrow on his face that Luke almost regretted asking...almost. He needed to know.

"Yoda believes that, no matter her insistence or even her desire to be free of the Dark Side, Athara will never be able to break her dependence on it. There is too much Darkness in her for Athara to be able to confront the Emperor without seriously risking her falling further into its thrall."

"You said that's what Yoda believes. But what about you? I don't believe that, you know I don't," Luke probed gently. Obi-wan smiled tightly, but it was an expression full of uncertainty. It was a discomfiting expression, one Luke was uncomfortable seeing on the face of his usually self-assured mentor.

"You have grown into a compassionate and thoughtful young man, Luke," Ben said, still sounding sad, "you've become a much better man than I." Luke watched his ghostly mentor thoughtfully.

"You believe Yoda. You're afraid that she's lost, no matter how far she's come, no matter how hard she has fought. You don't think your daughter can free herself from the Dark Side." Obi-wan's eyes jerked to Luke with a trace of surprise that he knew. Luke met his gaze head on. But Luke also noticed the fierce glint that appeared there before sorrow once again overtook it.

"I want to believe my daughter can prevail against the Dark Side, Luke. I want to believe that with everything that I am. She's the child I was never meant to have, a part of my Neva that survived even when she was taken from me. She's more precious to me than I could have ever imagined. But I have seen the effects of the Dark Side and I cannot help my doubt. I watched as your father turned on your mother, the woman he cared for more than his own life. I watched as he was corrupted by the Dark Side to the extent that he threatened the family he had succumbed to the Dark Side in order to protect. Vader nearly killed Athara on Hoth, and I've seen how deeply he cares for my daughter for myself. The Dark Side is not rational. It isn't merciful. It corrupts and it betrays.

"As much as I desperately want to hope—" As Obi-wan trailed off dejectedly, Luke sighed himself, the weight of what his mentor had said pressing on him painfully.

"If anyone can fight free of it, Athara can," Luke said softly, firmly. It was something he didn't doubt. A hint of a smile tugged at his lips as Obi-wan looked over to him. "And together we can redeem my Father. Turn him back to the light." Obi-wan fixed Luke with a resigned look.

"There is no coming back for Anakin, Luke. He is consumed too completely."

Luke shook his head slowly. "No. I don't believe that either, I can't." Unlike when thinking of Athara, doubt did wear at the back of Luke's mind when it came to Vader. Athara had never embraced the Dark Side, not completely. Even if she had never explicitly said so, Luke could feel it was true. There had always been reservation to her use of it; it didn't own her.

But Vader, his father, he had embraced it, taken it into himself with his whole being. The difference between the Darkness Luke sensed in Vader and what he could sense lingering in Athara were like night and day. But yet... "Anakin still lives within Vader, still fights within Vader. Athara is certain of it. If he were lost so completely, he would have simply killed her on Hoth. Or given into the Emperor's demand to bring her to him. Ben, he would have killed her when she was a baby.

"There is still good in him," Luke said, fixing Obi-wan with a firm look, "I can feel it. He can come back, just as Athara is doing. She can help him. I can. Together, I know we can get through to him." Obi-wan shook his head, sounding nearly impatient as he replied.

"Luke, you cannot rely on Athara's help. She may wish to escape the Dark Side and she may be capable of getting through to Vader for a time, but you cannot place all your faith in mays and mights. The Dark Side is too strong. It is cunning, ruthless and unpredictable. You cannot underestimate its allure and its strength." Luke sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Obi-wan was right, after a fashion. The Dark Side was strong, and its allure held a lustre that Luke couldn't deny. But the way Obi-wan spoke, it sounded almost as though, despite his allegiance to the Light Side of the Force, Ben believed the Dark Side was stronger.

Almost as soon as the thought hit him, Yoda's words seemed to echo through his memory: Is the Dark Side stronger, Luke had asked; no...no...quicker, easier, more seductive.

But not stronger.

Luke straightened, his gaze meeting Obi-wan's as a warm sense of certainty spread through him. Ben's brow creased at the sudden look of calm assurance on his final apprentice's face. Luke smiled softly again.

"And perhaps you are underestimating the strength of the Light."

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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