Beyond - Legends Dawning (L/M and all the rest - Post-FOTJ?! "AU" - Completed - 04/10/11 - Now With A Cover!)

Title: Dawning
Author: Briannakin
Timeframe: 44 ABY
Characters: Luke, Mara, Ben, Han, Leia, Jaina and the rest of the gang with a few OC's
Genre: Romance, Mush, Hurt/Comfort?, bits of angst maybe, Family Fluff!
Author's Notes: Some might call it AU... I call it wishful thinking.
There will be some FOTJ speculation and references, but you don't have to have read all (or any) of the series to get this fic. Don't worry if you don't get the prologue ? it's not supposed to make any sense... yet, just keep reading.

A PM list will be kept.

I'm going to be posting a link or two to songs with each chapter. You don't have to listen to them, but music is a big part of my life, so I believe songs can convey so much emotion.

Disclaimer: The galaxy belongs to George, and the characters and some events mentioned belong to him, Timothy Zahn, Greg Keyes, Karen Travis and all the rest. I'm just fixing their mistakes.

Big huggles to Jade_eyes for being my beta'er!!!

EDIT: I've written a prequel vignette to this fic called In the Darkness and I have made a cover:

[image=http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i465/Briannakin/dawning-cover.gif]

---

[b]EDIT: Dawning won the 2011 Beyond The Saga Award for Best Alternative Universe! Thank you![/b]

Kay, I'll shut up now.

* * *

[i]A/N: Song for prologue (it mostly just fits the first part): [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cY4oB4xZMM]Until the End ? Breaking Benjamin[/link][/i]

* * *

Prologue


Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master; exiled, swept high with his green blade. Gavin Khai, Sith saber, blocked with his red blade and pushed Luke back towards the edge of the cliff.

?You killed my daughter,? the Sith grunted, beginning a series of short, quick blows, making the other man retreat back further. The suns beat down on both of their black robed backs.

The Jedi's boy was now suspended in bacta thanks to the Sith's daughter. Ben was suspected never to wake up. Luke felt that he had nothing to live for now, but he still carried on. His wife was dead, he was exiled from his order, and now his only child was expected to die or remain in a coma. Even the best case scenario was that Ben would be severely brain damaged for the rest of a shortened life.

?I was only defending my son.? He couldn't believe he was wasting his breath when he should be killing the last member of the Lost Tribe Of The Sith. He edge closer to the precipice. His heels were hanging off now.

?Then you know why I must do this.? Gavin thrust his lightsaber into Luke's abdomen, but was a split second too slow. The Jedi had already jumped and split his opponent in half as he flew overhead. Luke landed on the other side of the bisected Sith and extinguished his lightsaber.

As he landed, he felt a prick at the back of his neck. He tried to look back, but ended up on the dry, cracked earth instead. Instantly, the base of his brain flared in pain and all else was lost.

* * *

When he woke from the blackness some time later, he wasn't sure how much time it was: moments felt like days or days; like moments, Luke realized that it had all been a dream.

Hadn't it?

But Luke couldn't recall exactly what had been a dream. The past day? The past week? The past year?

Everything was still dark. He could not open his eyes. He tried to move something. ANYTHING! But his body did not respond. He felt dizzy and like he was laying on air.

[i]Am I dead?[/i] he thought. Maybe it hadn't been a dream. Maybe life just seemed like a dream now that he was dead. It made sense to him.

But Luke then realized that he was still breathing, but not on his own. Tubes had been forced down his airways and air was being pumped in and out. And there were incessant beeping noises.

No, death couldn't be this uncomfortable. He wasn't in much pain, but his muscles and joints simply ached, a tremendous amount.

He tried to reach out with the Force, but he was so tired, he couldn't remember how t

 

A very compelling start, Briannakin My guess is Luke is seeing some sort of vision, but I'm not sure if it's the future or not Think you've got something tricky going on... Anyway, I like the mystery you've added to the prologue. Can't wait to see where you're going with this

 

Interesting...
I'm guessing this isn't a Legacy deathstick hallucination, so...
I give up.
Post morte soon

 

Bri-Ann:

Are you doing what I think you're doing?

'Cause if you are


Edit: I almost forgot - PM, please!

 

Oooh, it's up! And indeed very mysterious!

I love fixit AUs.

And this looks to be a very unique one.

 

YodaKenobi: Very interesting theories . Sadly, I?m not that creative. You will get answers in the first chapter. Thanks for reading.

bender42: I like to think the entire Del Ray collection is just one big deathstick hallucination. But no, this isn?t. Thank you for reading.

Hazel: Are you doing what I think you're doing?

?I might be? It depends on what you?re thinking I?m doing?.

But yeah, probably. I?ll put you on the PM list.

Jade_eye: PFFFT. Who ever said this was a ?fixit AU?? According to me, this WILL happen at the end of FOTJ.

Thanks.



PM List:
Hazel

 

A/N: Song for chapter one: Ghosts of You - Chantal Kreviazuk

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Mara Jade Skywalker sat beside her husband's bedside. Her sock-clad feet were up on the edge of the medcenter bed and a datapad was in her hands.

Mara liked doing her work as co-Grand Master in Luke's medcenter room. It was quiet and far away from her other co-Grand master: Corran Horn. He wouldn't annoy her here, no one would. The guy was nice and a great Jedi to work with, but his Corellian personality made her want to drive her head through a wall sometimes, or better yet, drive his head through a wall.

Mara smirked at the thought.

But doing her work in here also let her be with her husband for a few hours out of each day. The other masters worried about her. But he was still her husband and she still wanted to spend time with him, even if he wasn't really there. She knew what they all said behind her back: she was delusional, borderline crazy in her hopes that Luke would one day wake. Personally, she agreed with them. Deep down, she knew he would never come back to her. It had been four years after all; he wasn't coming back. He wasn't in a vegetative state because he dreamed, a lot and very vividly. Brain wave monitors showed his brain activity. Apparently, he was all there, he just couldn't wake up.

Luke laid their, like he had for the past one-thousand-four-hundred-and-some-odd days, on his special form-air foam bed to prevent bed sores. Tubes ran into and out of his mouth, nose and left hand, which was above the white blanket and resting on his stomach. His right arm was under the covers. His prosthetic hand had suffered too much damage in the battle and no one saw the point of re-attaching a new one. More tubes, along with miles of wires, flowed out from underneath the blankets and into machines or bags of fluid. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts, but no one but her and the healers knew this, since he was always covered up and no one else was allowed in here.

Security was tight, to say the least.

'Am I dead?'

Luke's voice rang clear inside her head.

She rubbed her eyes. It had been a long, hard day, it shouldn't be a surprise that she now was hearing voices. Great.

Mara took her feet off the bed, put on her boots and started packing up her things. She needed some rest.

Then she heard gags, like someone was choking, or trying to talk with something in their mouth and throat.

She watched in amazement as Luke's lips, neck and jaw twitched.

?Farmboy??

She then shook her head and rubbed her eyes again as she stood. ?Oh, Skywalker,? she said to both the body on the bed and herself. ?I've finally lost my mind. Yup. After four long years without her husband, the great Mara Jade Skywalker has finally lost her mind,? she practically sang. She bent over and kissed his forehead. ?The rest of the council is right,? she muttered, ?Maybe I should stop coming around here every day.? She then started her way towards the door.

* * *

Thoughts ran through Luke's head. Four years? Have I been dreaming for four years? Coma? Probably. That would put me in a coma just before Mara died. Wait, I was in a coma. That would mean she died in my dreams. That would mean Mara is alive. MARA YOU'RE ALIVE! he could feel his heart flutter as the thought hit him.

Then he felt her breath on his face and her lips on his forehead. He could have created a star using the Force he was so happy. He just might, just for her.

Then he heard her leaving, he had to stop her.

'Mara! Stop! It's me, Luke, Skywalker, Farmboy, whatever you want to call me, just come back, please! I love you!' he sent to her through their Force bond.

He then realized that he needed to do something else to make her realize that she wasn't just imagining things. He was too weak to do much with the Force, plus he still couldn't open his eyes to see what he had to work with.

Just do something, Luke, damn it, just do SOMETHING and do it quick, she's leaving,[

 

I really love this. Much better than reading LOTF.))

 

He's waking up!

I am very curious as to why Luke was in a coma for 4 years. What battle was it?

More soon, please!

 

Awesome post with Mara's reactions and staunch belief in Luke's returning to wakefulness, which was correct But wow! 4 years?! That is one mega-coma, and one ferocious battle he survived.

 

Yes, no LOTF, no FOTJ! Wonder how Ben is doing though.

Oh right, almost forgot, PM please.

 

I just started reading FOTJ, so I am intrigued by this...


I am loving Ben in FOTJ, so I hope he's up to his usual snarky antics, this time with mom around.

Also, I'm making a prediction - Luke's battle was with Jacen, which means he listened to everyone and Mara didn't go chasing Jacen by herself.

 

Piper057: Thanks. Almost everything is better than LOTF

Hazel: You'll find out soon,

Jade_eyes: Thanks. I'm kinda unsure of Mara's charactrization in this. I want her to be in character, but I also want it to be kinda realistic, she just spent four years as a widow, thats going to have some effects on her.

bender42: Well, half of LOTF still stands, but yes, no stupid Abeloth (or howver you spell it) or Daala as Chief of state.
Ben is well... Ben.
You will be added to the PM list!

JediMara77: There will be some references to FOTJ, but not too many.

Ben is me pretty much in FOTJ (snarky, teenage, dealing with an annoying widdowed parent, making up for the dead parent's snark). I enjoyed quoting Ben last year "I'm 16, Of course I'm hungry." Ben has the BEST lines in FOTJ. Of course Ben is going to be up to his usual snark antics in this, but not right away.

Do you want a cookie? Cuz your right. Well half right. So you only get a half of a cookie


PM list:
Hazel
bender42

 

A/N: Time for some Aerosmith! I Don?t Wanna Miss A Thing


Chapter 2

* * *

His condition must have been pretty serious if she was calling him 'Luke'.

After he did as he was told, there was a long silence. Then... Laughing? Crying? Both?

He certainly felt like doing both.

?Oh, Luke.? It was definitely a mixture of both he heard along with her running. He felt her instantly at his side. He felt her weight as she sat on the edge of the bed. He felt the warmth of her hand as she slid hers into his, only holding three of his fingers; she made sure he could still tap the top of her hand with the one finger he could move. He felt her kisses on his forehead and on his unshaven, stubbly cheeks. And he felt her tears, or were those his?

'Oh, Mara. Oh, my Mara, my love.'

She then stopped suddenly, jumped off the bed and started running. He heard the door opening and his beautiful wife's screaming as she ran down the hall. ?He's awake! Cilghal! He's awake!?

?Mara? What is all this about?? The Mon Cal was clearly confused with Mara's uncharacteristic hysteria.

?Luke is awake!?

?Now, Mara, we have talked about this bef--?

?No, this is different!? she insisted. ?He moved his finger.?

?What?!? the healer's shock could be heard in her voice and felt through the Force. Luke could hear two sets of feet running now

The door opened again and Mara was instantly at his side once again. ?Show Cilghal what you did for me.?

Luke began rapidly tapping his finger.

?Wow,? was all Cilghal could say.

* * *

Mara beamed as she sat at Luke's side again and took his hand as she did before.

Cilghal, who was standing at the foot of the bed, shuffled around for her datapad and retrieved it from her pocket. ?We have to do a few tests to make sure you're all here, Luke,? she said, tapping the screen a few times, she then looked up at the monitors. ?Although your brain waves tell me that you are fully awake, I need to assess your mental state. I'm going to ask you a few questions. The answers will be yes, no, or a number. Two taps of the finger is yes, one is no, and how ever many more you tap is the number, and if you can, give Mara any additional information you can or want to, through the Force. Do you understand??

Mara felt two taps on her hand.

?Good,? Cilghal said, ?Let's begin. Tap out how many syllables there are in your full name.?

'Luke Skywalker' Mara heard in her mind as she felt three taps on her hand.

?Good, Luke,? Mara said with a smile. She then turned, looked at the healer and nodded. ?He remembers who he is.?

?Good. I'm confident that you are fully functional mentally, Luke, so I will skip all the simple mathematical questions that assess your IQ. Now, do you know where you are??

There were two taps and 'A medcenter. I'm assuming the one in the Jedi temple. That means I'm on Coruscant.'

?He's figured out where he is,? Mara told Cilghal.

?Excellent. Now we need to see how much he remembers. Mara, I need you to go through a series of events that happened before... before he ended up here. Stop when he can't remember any more.?

Mara nodded. She knew why: Luke didn't need to know why he was here, not yet. She turned back to her husband. ?Okay, Farmboy. Do you remember Ben running away??

* * *

Events started flooding back to Luke as he tried to remember exactly when he would have gone into a coma.

He tapped Mara's hand twice. 'Yes. And I remember him coming back. How is he? Where is he?'

?Good. Ben is doing well. He's away on a mission, but we holo-comm him when you're feeling stronger. You're getting tired, I can feel it.?

Luke was so relieved knowing his son was not swimming, almost lifeless in a bacta tank like Ben had been at the end of the dream.

Even though he wanted to spend more time with Mara, he felt sleepy.

?That is to be expected,? he heard Cilghal reply. ?Even though you're not doing much, your body isn't used to so much activity. Let's finish up the memory part of the tests and we wil

 

Nice. What a scary dream Luke must have had, and I truly dislike the person who would write a series of books like that. *cough cough Troy Denning cough cough*

good job on it though. I particularly like the imagery of Jacen dead. never could stand the kid.

 

That must have been one intense duel with Jacen!

Loved the L/M talk and hope Luke will recover quickly.

And Jag/Jaina are having twins and rulling the galaxy.

 

Enjoyed this muchly, especially the twisty turn you made around Sacrifice.

And I'm so glad Daala is not running things and J/J are together (not giving each other fits, or rather her giving him the on/off treatment)

 

Emperor Fel, hmmm? Yes, I think I could get behind that. (Outcast has completely turned me on to the Jag appreciation train.)

Looking forward to Luke getting out of the medcenter!

 

Wowsa, Briannakin! I love you take on the AU of FOTJ and LOTF. Totally worth it!

I love how Mara stayed by Luke's side the entire time, and how poor Lukie is so confused.

And Luke killed Jacen? Wow.

And J/J is ruling the galaxy together...now that's awesome. I love Emperor Jag.

Can't wait for more!

 

Awwwww! They are so loving and caring...
Have I told you how much I love this story?

 

bender42: Thanks. I could never stand Jacen either.

Hazel: hope Luke will recover quickly.

Uhhhh. I cant guarantee that (since that is the plot kinda of this sorta plotless fic).

Jade_eye: Hey this is a ?fix it fic? OF COURSE my mother isn?t running the galaxy AND OF COURSE J/J are together.

JediMara77: Looking forward to Luke getting out of the medcenter!

It isn?t going to happen for a while, but when he does get out, it?ll be a chapter worth reading (I?ve just started writing it) full of humour and mush.

Master_Jaina1011: Thanks. My take on LOTF and FOTJ: it was all just a baaaaad dream. Of course Lukie is confused, wouldn?t you be after four years asleep?
Yup, Luke killed Jacen.

Piper057: THANK YOU!!

PM List:
Hazel
bender42

Next Chapter up soon (I hope).

 

A/N: Sorry, no song for this chapter

Chapter 3

Mara sat leaned forward in the lounger that was next to Luke's bed when the image above the holo-comm started to form. She recognized the head and shoulders of the person as Veri Kayn, a 'friend' of Ben's. She had come to the temple two years ago after completing her training at the academy. Mara knew that Ben was more than just 'friends' with the girl.

?Greetings Master Skywalker,? the girl said with a smile and a yawn. Veri was an average-looking human with a small face and shoulder length brown-black hair, tanned skin, and dark, hazel eyes. ?You're smiling. Why do I get the feeling that this is a message for Ben from his mother and not a message for all of us from the grand master herself??

?Because it is, Veri. Is Ben awake yet? It's rather important, but it can wait.?

?Who knows if he's awake or not? Killa, Mir'danne and I tend to avoid Ben's, Nakom's and Dillyn's rooms before midday.? Veri walked down a hallway, carrying the holo-comm unit with her. There then was banging on door. ?Is Benny-boy up yet??

The girl got a loud groan in return.

?Have it your way then,? Veri said in an exasperated tone. ?Cover up anything weird 'cuz I'm coming in,? she announced as she opened the door.

Mara then heard girlish screams coming from her son's roommates.

?Veri! Get out!?

?Oh shut it, I already know you all still sleep with stuffed ewoks.?

?We do not! That's only Ben.?

?Yeah, sure. Where is Benny-boy??

?Sanisteam. Why??

Veri started walking again. ?Because he has a call from his mommy.?

After a few seconds there was the thrumming of a sanisteam and another knock on a door. ?Ben!?

?What??

* * *

When Luke heard his boy's voice, so much was lifted off of him, even if he didn't recognize it. Ben's voice had changed, it was deeper now.

'He's turned into a man,' he stated, sadden by the fact that he missed it.

?Your mommy is on the holo-comm. She says it's important,? the girl who had answered the holo-comm said.

?Just open the door, Vere, I've unlocked it, and set it on the counter,? Ben said.

Veri muttered something Luke didn't pick up, then there was the sound of the door opening and closing again. A few moments later, the water was shut off and Ben started talking.

?Mom, what is it? I was kinda busy,? Ben said in a rush.

?What? No ?hello mommy dearest?? If she didn?t answer the holo-comm, I?d think Veri was in the sanisteam with you,? Mara mused.

?MOOOOM! What is it that you waaaant?? Ben mock-whined.

?I need you to come home right away.?

?Yeah, sure, but why?? He suddenly sounded concerned.

?I think you should see for yourself.?

Luke heard the holo-comm being turned. When it stopped, he knew it was on him.

He huffed twice to make sure he could get the words out as loud as possible. ?Hi... Ben.? He them huffed some more and moved his finger as a way of waving.

There was a moment of silence then... ?Dad? DAD!? then crying. ?Mom? MOM! Can... can he hear me? Is he lucid??

?Yes, Ben. He can hear and understand you,? Mara said, moving to sit beside Luke on the bed. ?He's just tired and weak.? She held his hand.

?When did he wake up??

?A couple hours ago,? Mara replied.

?Dad?... I... I don't know what to say.?

?There?s a first,? Mara muttered.

?Don't have to...? Luke huffed again to finish, ?say anything. Just come.?

?Alright, Dad.? Luke could tell that his son was holding back tears. ?Rest and get better and I'll be there in a few days. Mom, Dad, I love you, I'm leaving now.?

With that, the call was disconnected.

?He's such a handsome man now. He reminds me a lot of you, only, he's much taller. I think he gets that from your father,? Mara said, rolling the comm unit back. ?And those feet of his!?

'Big?'

?HUGE! For a while I thought I was going to have to buy him wookiee shoes. You definitely chose some interesting years to miss.?

'Puberty?'

?I believe Corellians have another name for it: hell. It was not fun for any of us. I'm just thankful for Han and Corran. They had to explain everything to m

 

This is the best to brighten up my morning (I read it while having breakfast).

And I agree with you, Bri-Ann. It's all a bad dream. I keep expecting someone to just wake up and realize none of it was real.

In fact, FotJ only makes sense if it's s dream.

 

Hi there:

I like Veri. She's great for Ben, all snark like his mom lol!

Like how Luke is steadily improving.

Looking forward to the whole family being together.

 

Very nice update. I can't wait for the father-son reunion. Ben and Luke have the best scenes in FOTJ.

?MOOOOM! What is it that you waaaant?? Ben mock-whined.

Like father, like son.

?Dad?... I... I don't know what to say.?

?There?s a first,? Mara muttered.

Lol. How true.

As she was leaving, he opened one of his eyes to see her bottom as she walked out the door. Yup, that part of her anatomy was still downright sexy, like the rest of her body.

She spun around just before exiting. ?I heard that,? she said, tapping her temple. ?You dirty, dirty, old man.?

Luke grinned as he closed his eye and let sleep take him.

Aww.