Chapter Text
Luke Skywalker knew one thing for sure. If he ever composed a list of top ten situations he never imagined he'd been in, being trapped in a net with Darth Vader was definitely number one on that list. He wondered where it had gone wrong.
It had been just a regular routine flight check with the Rouge Squadron when the Executor had showed up out of nowhere, and had engaged in a dogfight with them. He had been hit and had crash-landed on the unknown planet below. He had had to leave Artoo with the ship as he went and searched for some sort of settlement as his comlink and communications were down. That was when he had run (literally) into the Dark Lord of the Sith.
He had just been stumbling along the jungle, minding his own business when he had run straight first into what he thought was a black covered tree. It was only when he looked up and heard the distinctive breathing that he turned and hightailed it out of there as fast as he could. Vader had seemed so surprised that Luke had just come out of nowhere, barged into him, and then fled, that it took him several seconds to give chase. Vader had just caught up to him when he had triggered the apparent hunting trap and they had both been swept up into the net.
Coming back to the present, he assessed his current situation. He was pressed up tightly against the dark lord, practically sitting in his lap, and it was rather unnerving to be this close to the armored giant without a good solid ten feet as a barrier between them. He sighed and shifted, scrabbling for purchase on the net, trying to leverage himself up into a good position to grab his lightsaber. Losing his grip on the netting, he slipped and slammed face first into Vader's steel plated armored chest.
Rubbing his cheek, he tried getting some distance from the black monolith, but was entirely unsuccessful. In fact, he seemed to be even more pressed up against him than before. He heard a loud rumbling sound that sounded suspiciously like a sigh coming from above him.
"Would you stop squirming around young one? You're just making things worse."
Luke reared back, affronted. "Well, excuse me for trying to get out of this situation." He glared and then started wiggling around once more, "Now if I can just reach my lightsaber..." Luke reached for his lightsaber only to fumble it out of his grasp. He stared down in disbelief as it slipped through the net and thudded onto the ground.
He heard what sounded like another sigh above him.
Annoyed, he snapped, "Well, why don't you just use the force or your lightsaber to get us down? Aren't you some all-powerful Sith?"
"Are you somehow incapable of using the force yourself?"
"My training in the force has amounted up to about 3 hours total, and most of that was swinging my lightsaber around trying to avoid being zapped by a training bot. So no, I don't think I'd be a good asset in attempting to use the force to get us out of this."
Several moments passed before Vader answered, his voice a low growl, "you mean to tell me Obi-Wan never trained you in the force?"
"Well, he didn't exactly get much time with me, especially considering the fact that you killed him before he really got started on my training." Luke shot back, his anger rising.
"This is war. Ono-Wan was an opponent, and there were personal grudges that needed to be addressed and dealt with."
"So your way of dealing with conflict is just to kill everyone?"
"Death is a natural part of life and for those typically in conflict with me, death is the preferable option," Vader replied in a calm and demeaning tone.
"Is that why you betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker?"
The air instantly chilled several degrees. Luke craned back instinctively from the sudden lashing force tentacles full of dark outrage emitting from the man. They seemed to curl through the air, and strangely curl protectively around him, almost drawing him even closer against the armored bulk. He shivered, throwing off the sensation of the weight settling across his shoulders and drawing him closer to Vader. That probably wasn't a good question to ask his father's killer, especially considering their close proximity and his inability to escape, but it had just slipped out in the heat of the moment.
"Is that what Obi-Wan told you?" Vader finally said, his voice a low growl.
"Yes," Luke shot back defiantly.
"And you believed him? Without any proof except his word?" Vader said, his voice rising.
"Why would I have doubted him?"
"Because Kenobi was a lying traitorous fool!" Vader thundered. "You should have trusted in the force to tell you he was lying."
"What do you mean trust in the force? I'd never even heard of the force or Jedi before that conversation!"
"You should have," he said darkly. "You should have been trained from birth. Your father would have wanted that.” Vader paused considering before he continued, “He still does want that."
Luke stilled, his eyes zeroed in on the blinking lights of the control panel right before him. Unable to look Vader in the eye, he whispered, "What... What are you saying? You didn't kill my father? He’s alive?"
"No. I did not kill your father," Vader paused, his next words a blow to Luke's very soul, "Luke, I am your father. Obi-Wan lied to you."
Luke stared in horror and shock at Vader. "Th-haat's not true! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
He started to violently thrash around, and hit Vader in the chest. His fists flying, he began to punch Vader everywhere he could reach. Vader grabbed the flailing boy's arms in his strong grip and pulled him close and up, his mask inches from Luke's face.
"Search your feelings Luke, you know it to be true."
Luke closed his eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing in the force, ringing with the truth of Vader's words. All he could manage was a whispered "why" out loud.
"Kenobi probably wanted to spare you the pain of being my son, but in turn, he ended up doing more damage than he could possibly have imagined. You are my son Luke, mine. And now that I have you, I am never letting you go again. That is a promise. Together we will rule as father and son, and we will destroy the emperor once and for all."
Luke remained there for seemingly endless minutes, his eyes scrunched shut, refusing to hear the words Vader, his father was saying. His eyes shot open when he felt Vader take his chin gently in his hand, tilting it to look at him. "You belong with me, my son. Accept your destiny and your place at my side."
Luke closed his eyes once more and finally nodded, all fight gone from him. He felt limp and numb, betrayed by all that he had held dear.
"Say something young one."
"What do you want me to say?" Luke replied, defeated and reeling from the revelation. "You just told me that you're supposed to be my dead father, and you're Darth kriffing Vader. I'm going to need a moment to process this." Vader nodded and hesitantly released Luke's captured wrists. Luke bowed his head, wanting some distance but unable to receive any in their current predicament. He was practically sitting on top of the man, it wasn’t like he could move or run away.
"Why didn't you ever come find me?" He finally gathered the courage to speak, piercing Vader with his bright blue eyes.
"I was unaware of your existence. I thought you had died along with your mother. Obi-Wan hid you well."
"My mother?" Luke asked, his curiosity about his heritage spiking.
"We will not speak of her." Vader retorted sharply, his anger surging. Luke flinched back. Vader winced inwardly. Luke had just started to make strides in the direction of accepting him, and he had just made things worse. Again.
"You could at least give me a name, if nothing else. I deserve that much." Luke carried on, his voice steady and unflinching. Vader regarded his child. Already, the boy had moved past his fear of the situation into uneasy acceptance and childlike rebellion. Maybe he hadn’t done as much damage as he had thought.
"Padme, her name was Padme." He finally replied.
"Padme," Luke smiled and whispered to himself. He wrapped his arms around his middle and Vader felt the sudden urge to wrap the child in his own arms and never let go. He shook the notion away quickly. It would not do to show weakness in front of the boy. "So are you going to train me in the force?" Luke continued.
"Yes. Your force signature is rather overwhelming. It's like standing next to a large supernova. You need to construct strong mental shields to protect your existence and yourself from the Emperor."
"And does this training involve learning the dark side of the force?"
"It is the only way to true power."
"Surely that's not so. Weren't you once a Jedi? I'll not use the dark side if that what training with you entails."
"You will do as I say!" Vader said, his voice rising yet again.
"Or what? You'll force me or kill me if I don't turn? Is that what you want?" Luke replied firmly, with challenge in his gaze. Vader couldn't seem to muster up much of a response, instead choosing to remain silent.
After a few minutes and Vader clearly not choosing to continue the argument, Luke sighed exasperated. "Fine. Would you then please use the force or do something to cut us down? I'm starting to cramp up."
"We are not yet finished discussing your training. You will turn to the dark side," Vader waggled a finger at him. Luke merely rolled his eyes. Vader weighed the pros and cons of a proper response to that action, but decided that escaping the net was the primary objective. He could deal with his son's attitude later. He wrestled his own lightsaber from where it was located underneath him, and then carefully turned it on and started to cut a hole through the netting.
Just as they dropped, he called on the force and gently floated them down to the ground, catching Luke in his arms as he landed. He called Luke's lightsaber from where it had fallen on the ground and immediately strode off, his son clutched tightly in his arms. Shocked, Luke could only stare at Vader openmouthed.
"Hey! Put me down! I'm not a child." Luke finally found his voice and protested after several minutes, shock on his face at Vader’s audacity.
"In my eyes you are, young one. And I do not like the idea of you getting into trouble or straying. I am keeping you close."
"That's ridiculous!" Luke shouted. He started struggling to get loose, but was unable to squirm from the strong encasing arms. His protests rang through the forest as Vader continued walking, his lost child firmly in his grasp.