COMPLETED 9/8 Before the Dawn--ROTJ through the eyes of Luke Skywalker, Please Read!!!

Something in the back of his mind stopped Luke Skywalker dead in his tracks. It was something profoundly wrong, as though he had been suddenly immersed in a glacial lake.

Turning towards the source of the sensation, he beheld a tree--twisted, gnarled, deadened. It had an almost charred veneer, as though consumed by its own darkness. Near the twisted mass of roots was an entrance to a cave.

"There's something not right here," he murmured, barely breathing.

Master Yoda neither confirmed his suspicions nor refuted them. He simply gazed at the soil, prodding it gently.

Clearly, this was something Luke was going to have to take into his own hands.

Hoping for some guidance, he stretched out his senses, probing the darkness, but it sent back nothing but more of the chill.

"I feel cold," he continued, "death."

"That place..."

Luke turned to see Yoda's ears drooping, his eyes half-closed. "It is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain
of evil it is. In you must go."

Despite the shock his words caused, Luke felt it as well. The beckoning of destiny, the irrefutable need to face this. Something in there was...

"What's in there?"

"Only what you take with you."

Cryptic as always, but there was only one way to decipher the meaning.

Glancing warily between his Master and the cave, he bent to retrieve his utility belt and cinched it around his waist, feeling the comforting weight of his father's lightsaber and his well-worn blaster against his thighs.

"Your weapons...you will not need them."

Luke shook his head adamantly. Whatever there was in there, he would need physical and spiritual defenses. He would sure as Sith need his lightsaber.

No more information seemed to be forthcoming and daylight was fading away into dusk, so, with more confidence than he felt, Luke lifted the vines aside and entered the cave.

As a child, he had been terrified by stories of great conflicts between good and evil. Two ends of the spectrum warring to the death. In every story, the hero would face the darkness in its own lair, a hovel filled with creatures of the darkness.

Uncle Owen often went into excessive detail, creating a realm of shadows through which slithered snakes and arachnids and other predators. The darkness wrapped around the brave hero even as a constrictor would.

The cave was just such a realm.

He could barely see the edge of the passage, hardly make out the path before him. Perhaps that was the intent.

Nothing but his harsh, rasping breath and the inexplicable pounding of his heart filled his ears. Not even the skittering of legs or the croaking of reptiles.

Suddenly, his breathing was mingled with the regulated hiss of a respirator. His pounding heart stopped, it seemed, and his eyes widened, despite having no visual stimulus.

Then, illuminated from the back, Darth Vader stalked forward.

Instinctively, Luke's hand went to his lightsaber, snatching it from his belt and igniting it as he swept it up into the first defensive posture.

For all the good it would do him.

The blades clashed, sky-blue against blood-red. Vader swung a vicious blow, but Luke side-stepped, twisting his wrists to parry. Regaining his footing, he slashed down towards the Dark Lord's head.

The head detached from the body, leaving the mutilated corpse to fall forward, limp. But Luke's eyes were not on that, but of the mask.

It rolled to a stop at his feet and for a breathless moment, Luke considered reaching down to open it. Then suddenly, there was a crack and it split open.

The eyes were blank and sightless, but they were his own. The features a perfect mirror. In destroying Vader, he himself had become what he feared the most.

His father.
*********************************************
I awoke with a start, my breath coming in ragged gasps, drenched in cold sweat. My limbs were trembling as though I had been working myself into an exhaustion, and yet I had been at rest for the last five hours.

Reaching out with a trembling hand, I retrieve

 

All right, I know Clarus, Force-Wielder, and Jairen just did something similar to this with Vader, but I've been wanting to do this for a very long time and I hope you'll read and enjoy this. I always felt that ROTJ required some more of Luke's perspective, some insight into how and why things happened. Especially certain lines. So, there we go.

 

Very nice! Please keep it up!

 

Yay, I have a reader. Any others?

 

Okay, to entice more people, or to please my one reader, here's more.
*********************************************
I spent most of the four-day trip to Tatooine in meditation, attempting to find my center.

It was not easy.

There was too much turmoil building, within my soul and among the inhabitants of the Galaxy for anyone with a measure of Force-sensitivity to find peace. Events were coming to a nexus, that much was clear, and it was as though the Galaxy were teetering on a balance point, any sudden movement capable of sending it over the edge.

On a smaller scale, I felt much in the same position.

This spiritual precipice was what drove me to resignation in the first place and each passing day found me even more ill at ease.

Leia recognized this and, for all her distress over the current situation and her growing apprehension, respected my need to withdraw into myself.

The visions came frequently and with frightening intensity. Master Yoda had said that through the Force, it was possible to see all spectrums of time, but I had never encountered the gift so fiercely.

I had never thought of the Force as nagging, but it was the only adjective that seemed to fit. It was as if the Force, recognizing my precarious position, were giving me every not-so-subtle hint that it could devise.

As if I needed a reminder.

How could it think that I would need any more prompting to remain in the light? When every waking thought was plagued by the thought that I might be caught off guard, that I might unwittingly take the steps towards the Dark Side, towards following in my father's footsteps?

And, even worse, the nagging doubt: is there something I'm missing here?

 

Yes, that was short, but I'm exhausted and moreover, only one person's reading so far, so if you want more, READ. Okay, I just realized that that's kind of a self-defeating behavior, but I'm slightly cranky today. Sorry! UP!

 

Yay! My favorite movie through the eyes of my favorite character.

You have another reader in me

I love your writing and what you have written so far. I always wondered what was going through Lukies head during this movie, and I can see him thinking like this.

Must have more.

 

Yay, another reader! I'm ecstatic!

 

I'm reading, too. More, please!

 

patience, my young apprentice.

 

OoOOOO I am loving this Ishie! A complete LUkie stoyr!!!

 

Woohoo! The readers are finally coming in! I can stop being a cranky, whiny bratlet. Okay, so I had no excuse for being a cranky whiny bratlet in the first place, but this makes me very happy to see familiar and new faces alike. Welcome, all.

 

More will be coming tomorrow, but for now, I am a tired little bratlet. G'night!

 

LOL I htink the Whinycomplainingbratlet comes is a sideeffect of the "New Story Blues" I go through it every time!

Looking forward to more!

 

Oh, gosh. I made a mistake. I ran into my friend LaTisha from freshman year (she lived next door) and we were talking about our weekly 'keggers.' We're both tee-totallers and every week, we'd get a bottle of sparkling apple cider and get really hyper on it. Well, I was on my way to the grocery and on my way back, I dropped by her apartment with apple cider and we got 'sloshed' for old time's sake. Now I'm no longer tired and rather having pent-up energy problems, so I will be writing a post soon. Glad to know the Crankywhinybratlet thing is common. I thought I was just being a witch. *sigh of relief*

 

I'm here too and totally loving it!!!

It must be a tough job you're doing, trying to enter Luke's mind during ROTJ and I also loved the "missing scenes"!

 

I'm here! I couldn't get the boards to work very well last night, so I couldn't post! But I am reading and loving it too!

 

I'm here. Looking good.

 

Hey Darth, I've read stories similar to this, but not from Luke's perspective, and I must say that you seem to have Luke's character down pretty tight. This should be good! Keep it up! excal

 

Oooh, nice! I definitely be reading this, Kanga!

I simply C A N N O T wait until the end!

 

I'm reading, too! I noticed this, but didn't have a chance to read it until today.
It's wonderful, Ishtar! Looking forward to the next part.

 

I've tried four times to post this, with comp troubles each time. Pray that it doesn't happen again!

Post to follow this message.

 

FINALLY...

What true Luke fan has not wondered what the heck was going on in his head during ROTJ? This is awesome, Ishie! More soon!

 

It'll be up soon. I promise!

 

Midnight found me awake, roaming the halls and rooms of Ben's home, hoping to find something to occupy my time or at least give me some answers.

I found Leia.

Curled against the wall with her knees drawn to her chest and her eyes half-closed, she looked for all the worlds like a child stubbornly fighting the idea of going to bed while trying desperately to keep her eyes open.

Most people who had ever seen her this way thought she was just being stubborn. I have come to know, however, that it is a form of fear.

When dealing with her in everyday life, it is almost impossible to imagine that this strong-willed, charismatic creature could be subject to any sort of fear.

Those who think that don't know her at all.

Unlike most of the Alliance, I have seen her at her best and her worst. I have held her as she's wept uncontrollably, let her take out her sometimes violent grief on me. I have sat up countless nights with her, just so she will not know she is not, will never be, alone.

It is a profound form of love. Not the sort that sets your heart pounding and your palms sweating or, once upon a lifetime, marches you into an Imperial detention block to rescue a damsel-in-distress.

But the love of family.

I've never had a sister, but Leia more than adequately fills the gap.

The fear is not of any outside force, but of herself. Every move she makes, she is afraid of being a destroying angel, of becoming the enemy.

Even with me, she sometimes fears.

"You love him, don't you."

Her eyes, overbright with tears. "Luke, I never mean to hurt you. You have to..."

Incredulous, I stare at her. Now I am only bewildered. "Hurt me? How can you possibly think you've hurt me?"

Her chin lowers and her eyes close. "I know you've loved me."

"Yes," I admit. "But Han makes you happy. Happier than I could ever manage, with my brotherly love. How could I ever begrudge you joy?"

When waking reality is such a nightmare as it is, who wants to succumb to what dreams may come?

In the last six months, I have known exactly how she feels.

We both have our demons, our night phantoms. The only difference is that no amount of light can chase mine away.a

"Can't sleep, either?"

I started from my reverie to find her watching me, a kind of wearied bemusement playing across her features.

"Too much to think about," I said carefully.

"Me too," she yawned.

I laughed. "You look as though you're already dreaming."

Her eyes fixed on her toes. "I was," she said softly.

I sucked in my breath. Another restless night.

"About Han?"

"No."

Crossing to her, I sank onto the bed next to her and drew my knees up to my chest, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"What, then?"

A strangled half-sob burst from her throat. "It was you," she choked out. "You had become the shadows we fight, filled with dark power that consumes everything."

My arm went limp, my jaw dropped with shock. The visions were plaguing her, too, now.

"Is that what will happen if you don't complete your training?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

Her face turned and I could feel her probing gaze. "It's not just me," she observed. "You've seen it too."

"Yes."

"That's why you can't sleep at night, why you've been so haunted." She stiffened. "That's why you resigned, isn't it?"

I simply nodded, throat too tight to speak.

"Oh, Luke," she breathed. "How do you live with such a burden?"

How indeed?

To try and explain this. Fear is of the Dark Side, but fear is only a form of respect, is it not? I am not so stupid that I think I am untouchable. I have felt the cold grip of the Dark Side on my soul and have shaken it off, but every time, it gets harder.

"One heartbeat at a time," I said finally.
*********************************************
The lightsaber is nearly finished.

In a matter of moments, I would wield my own justice rather than drawing on the legacy of my father.

Vader took more than my hand on Bespin. He took that legacy and left me with something