Chapter Text
Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, took his final breath. As he became one with the force, he expected to see his wife, Padme, but something was not right. This blackness, it didn’t feel right, where was he? It continued for some time before he heard the breathing, his deep rhythmic breathing. The breathing that had become so natural to him in his career as the right hand of Darth Sidious, the Emperor Sheev Palpatine.
“How am I alive? My last moment was looking into the face of my son and letting the force take me…why am I here?” He thought, his brain trying to slowly compute that disconnected events together.
Darth Vader, the last of the Banite Sith Order, called out to the Force to help him understand what was going on. The Force answered, feelings of disappointment, loss and forgiveness filled his head before a singular word took its place. Fatherhood , it practically said, like it was telling him he forgot something. Then it swiftly left his mind as he opened his eyes, finding his world to be far more colorful than the red tint that had been his world view for over twenty years. He then felt his suit tighten slightly, like it was trying to breathe before the tightness ebbed away.
Vader slowly sat up, turning his head this way and that. He could feel the Force around him, however, it was more like the Force was smothering him in how potent it was. It reminded him of Mortis, how the Force there was so powerful that he could have warped the planet itself to his whims. Refocusing, Vader moved himself to a more comfortable position, a kneeling position that gave him the ability to lunge at a target if one presented itself to him.
Feeling for his lightsaber, Vader found that it was missing, those lessons that Obi-Wan had pounded into his head so many years ago came back to him in full force.
“ Anakin! This weapon is your life! ” His old mentor’s voice circled around his head, he could only smile at the voice. This lesson had saved his life so many times when he had been the feared Dark Lord of the Galactic Empire.
Raising his right hand, Vader called his lightsaber to him. The black and silver hilt flew out of the grass and into his open palm, the familiar handle fitting his hand perfectly. Quickly inspecting the weapon showed that it was in pristine condition. He gave the lightsaber a twist, unlocking it internally before using the force to pull the casing away from the central housing of the blade. He looked at the crystal inside, or in this case, the pair of them. One had been the crystal he had bled that had come from the late Jedi Master Kirak Infil'a, taking it from him on the moon of Al'doleem.
The second one he had constructed in secret on Mustafar, having been studying the tomes of the Ancient Sith order and their weapons. Sidious hadn’t been the only one to be able to keep secrets, however, most of that was from his former Master’s arrogance. Sidious ignored Mustafar entirely throughout his reign until Darth Vader had to be tested and “brought back to the Dark Side”. The crystal had been forged from lava crystals that were discovered by expedition teams during the time of when Darth Momin was constructing his castle. He also used Momin’s bled crystals in the creation of the secondary synthetic crystal.
He had spent a week using the Dark Side to melt down the crystals before using the Force and his very dark emotions to sculpt the crystal into a proper shape. He took satisfaction in tearing apart Momin’s own creations and using his powers to forge a proper crystal that the Ancient Sith created before they switched over to bleeding Jedi Kyber Crystals over forging their own. Both crystals hummed within the Force, two different tunes that were in perfect harmony with him. Looking over both crystals, Vader concluded they had not cracked or had been harmed in any fashion.
Putting his lightsaber back together, Darth Vader looked over himself before noticing something was off. It hadn’t come to him at first but now, he noticed it when he finally acknowledged it. He was not in pain, the pain that had been a part of the Sith Alchemy that fuelled his anger and rage. It was gone, completely gone. His helmet gave him a suit system overview and what he saw surprised him. Biotechnology wasn’t something that the Empire had looked into once they had become the main source of Cloning Technology, so creating prosthetics that could easily do the things that biology had done was too expensive.
Darth Vader was looking at what his suit would have been if the Empire had gone down the path of this miracle technology. His arms and legs were made of powerful Beskar Alloy, something that had been a part of the Mandalorian Dark Trooper Project that ISB Agent Gideon had been looking into. Inside the limbs were nanotech based tech to stand in for the needed organic veins and arteries, fibrous strands of durasteel and phrik alloy standing in for muscles. His organs have also been healed with the help of nanotech that stood in for healthy cells, but the whole thing also was steeped in the Dark Side.
A Sith Alchemist's dream, something that made him think that this suit was his creation if he ever learned how to create with Sith Alchemy. To test this, Vader called upon his darkest emotion and funneled it into his fingers. Nothing happened for a moment before red lightning sparked and sizzled into life between his fingertips. He remembered this lightning, the most powerful lightning any Force User could call upon. The Celestial called the Son had this lightning, so had Anakin when he went through the Doorway the Momin had created on Mustafar. Ending the test, Vader rose to his full height before letting his senses fill with the Force to find out where he was.
Something in the Force screamed, bringing him the memories of his long dead wife and his one time apprentice as a Jedi Knight. Screams didn't usually gain his attention anymore, but this one did. It sounded like Padme when he dreamed of her dying, calling out his name as her face twisted and contorted in pain.
" You made your choice, " Vader told himself, trying to pinpoint the location of the force induced screams, “ She made hers. You can’t regret that choice anymore. ”
" Then why did the scream gain your attention, Darth Vader? " The voice of Anakin Skywalker asked in his mind.
Darth Vader ignored the question, it was nothing but the remains of his past self and he accepted that because of his son, Luke. Luke had saved him from the Dark side, but he was Anakin’s dark side. The ‘Hero-of-tomorrow’ was no more, all that remained was the feared and dreaded Darth Vader. But maybe, he could change and become what his son had become, a Jedi. Vader shook his head, no, he was no more a Jedi than he was a Sith. But, if he balanced himself between the dark and the light sides of the force maybe he could start on a path that was close enough to the same path that Luke walked. Something he had to learn as he was not someone that easily controlled his own emotions.
The imposing Sith Lord pulled the dark into himself, sprinting towards the source of the screams. As he ran, Vader noticed something odd about his surroundings. He was in a forest, the trees were bare of anything and made it look creepy, making the Sith Lord instinctively shudder. This place reminded him of the shadow filled wastelands on Mortis that belonged to the Son.
Where were the people? Vader felt something wash over him, it was a weak force aura that had been destroyed by something powerful. Stepping through the lessening fog, he saw the house. The house itself must have once been pure white but now looked old, dilapidated by the ravages of time or maybe what had covered the house. Lord Vader stopped in front of a destroyed door, lightsaber in hand, he marched inside with the caution forged into him by the end of the Clone Wars and beginning of the Empire.
His helmet's scanner found the body of a man on the floor as if he had been shot, but he had no visible wounds to say if he had been. Whatever he had died from, it was quick and painless. His body looked very different in the force, looking like a shattered window. His life force is nothing more than a husk, an empty shell of a human being. This gruesome scene looked like something his master would have done to anyone that would have truly harmed him. Sidious was very vindictive to those who had come really close to killing him completely, leaving broken husks behind.
Continuing towards the stairs, Vader stilled as he heard a high pitch voice come from one of the upstairs rooms.
"Pity, your mother would have lived if she moved away from you...No matter, your death is near Potter!"
Vader leaped up the stairs to see a man, draped in a midnight black robe, pointing what looked like a stick at a child that was in a crib. He had to do a double take as it reminded him of Sidious in his black robe he usually wore. The man also had an aura of pure evil, reminding him of his old Master even more, around him and something else. In the Force, something about the being in front of him was missing something.
The man pointed the stick at the head of the babe before snarling with vindictive delight, “AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A bright, deadly green flash of light appeared from the tip of the stick, heading straight towards the baby’s head. The Force roared, causing the Sith Lord to take a step back as a wall of golden light came into life around the baby in the crib. The green light struck the golden barrier, pressing into it before it was hurled right back at the one who casted it. The man screamed as the green light hit him in the chest before he collapsed in on himself, leaving the midnight black robe behind. The robe fluttered before a wraith-like creature shot out of the robe and flead into the night, screaming unintelligibly as it did.
Darth Vader stood motionless in the doorway, from what his helmet scanners had picked up from that green light, it was a concentrated beam of energy that was not too dissimilar to a laser bolt. However, in the Force, it had more similarity to that of Sith Lightning and another ability called Force Drain. The boy in the crib had a force barrier around him that rebounded the deadly assault, saving the child's life. Vader was brought out of his daze when he heard the woman on the floor gasp.
"James?" the woman asked, her vision was glazed over, as she looked at Vader.
The Sith Lord walked over and knelt down, picking her up with one arm. The woman had vivid red hair, brilliant emerald green eyes and a beautiful face. This ‘James’ must have been her husband and was one lucky man. Probably was the same man that was on the ground floor, the Sith guessed.
"No, I am not James," The Dark Lord of the Sith said, seeing the woman wince, “I am afraid…he is dead.”
The mother coughed before turning her head so she was looking in the general direction of his face plate,"T-then he did his part for the ritual…our son, does he live?”
She started coughing; Vader used the force to calm the spasms before Vader answered her. He saw that she was barely fighting off death with her own power in the force, clinging to the shattered edges of her mortal shell. He couldn’t help but admire her strength and determination to deny death with every fiber of her being.
“He lives,” He said, looking at the child that was watching them with the same eyes as the woman he held, “but I do not think the one that attacked you will be without followers.”
She coughed again, her grasp slipping before Vader secured it with a controlled Force grip. She looked at him in surprise before she chuckled darkly.
“So,” She murmured, “I’m laying in the arm of Anakin Skywalker…excuse me, the arm of Darth Vader…seems like I traded one Dark Lord for another.”
Vader went still, not sure how she knew that. He had kept that information very under wraps and she knew it. He was about to ask something before she started speaking, the Force singing around her as she spoke.
“I-I, Lily Potter Nee Evans, call upon magic to hear my plea. For as long as my son is loved and…cared for, may magic protect him and those who raise him. S-so I say, so mote it be.”
Vader looked up as the barrier appeared again before vanishing as Lily reached up and put a hand on his mask.
“J-james and I forgot to write any recent wills,” She said, her words coming fast like she was weakening from that power she had used with her abilities in the force, “any recent ones, anyway. T-the latest ones are from half a year ago, but they don’t give much but have it so our son gets everything around his eleventh birthday. I-it should say who betrayed us and that his Godfather is innocent, b-but given what I suspect will happen, they will seal it and ignore our wishes anyway. T-take him, raise him…please, there is good in you like Luke said.”
Vader watched as Lily, the mother of the boy, passed on to the force. The look of peace on her face made it look like she was only asleep, but Vader had only to feel her force aura to know that she had left the plane of the living. Laying her back on the floor, Vader turned before walking up to the crib. Darth Vader looked at the babe, who looked back with those large emerald eyes. Reaching out, Vader lifted Harry out of his crib.
He turned to leave the room when he was warned of another presence appearing outside the house, making him tighten his grip on his lightsaber. The presence rushed through the house, up the stairs before stopping at the doorway. Greasy hair, a large hooked nose and sour expression. The Sith activated his lightsaber a heartbeat before a purple light hurled itself at his chest, crimson sending purple into the wall. More energy hurled at him before he surged forward, helmeted head smashing into the skull of the man. The man crumpled as the force of durasteel hitting organic bone and flesh was too much for the man.
Vader sneered at the unconscious human, putting his weapon on his belt before quickly using the force to find what he would need if he was to raise a child. A bag came into his hand, the aura in the force was confusing. Looking into the bag, he realized that it was bigger on the inside of it. The Force hummed in amusement as he thought this before calling other items to himself and putting them into the bag. Within a few minutes, the Force hummed that was enough. Vader tightened the opening and put it on his belt, tightening the knot so it wouldn’t easily come off.
Looking at the crib, he found a blanket that had the baby's name sewn into it in gold letters. It said “Harry James Potter”, giving Vader a name to call him. Looking quietly at the young child in his arm, he wrapped the blanket around him. Harry was asleep before the two of them even left the house, thanks to Darth Vader's rhythmic breathing.
Sirius Orion Black aparated along with the team of Aurors he had gathered the moment he couldn’t find Peter anywhere at the safe house. The conniving little bastard had flown the coop and gone to Voldemort, now his best friend and his wife were dead. The state of the house was pretty clear, Voldemort caused damage wherever he appeared. Pointing at two of the Aurors to set up a perimeter, Sirius looked over at Kingsley Shacklebolt.
“Full war precautions, Kingsley,” Sirius grunted, pulling out his wand, “better be prepared for this.”
Kingsley grimaced, “you might want to use your Occlumency here as well, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might have murdered both James and Lily. I know how close to them you were, the whole department does.”
Sirius grimaced before nodding, bringing his rather impressive mental shields down as they stepped into the Potter’s house. He saw James’ body on the ground, bringing a few tears to his face before motioning at Shacklebolt.
“Set up a crime scene,” He muttered before going upstairs, “I’ll check to see if my Godson and Lily are up there.”
He knew that he was not going after the real perpetrator but he had been talked out of it by his partner, Kingsley. Peter could wait until they secured the house and got the evidence against him, nailing his rat’s ass to the wall. Reaching the second floor, he used a lumos to look at the ground and growled. The form of Serverus Snape lay there, showing his true colors at last. He cast several high end spells that entrapped the greasy haired slytherin before his pulled out magic dampening binders and cuffed the potions master. Looking into the Nursery, he found Lily’s body laying there like she was only sleeping within the chaos that was the room.
Dragging Snape downstairs, he called to Kingsley, “I found someone here, finally showing his true colors.”
Kingsley marched over and took Snape from Sirius, “Guessing Lily didn’t make it.”
A statement, not a question.
“No,” Sirius grimaced, “not only that, Harry is missing.”
“That’s not good,” Kingsley muttered, “maybe Gringotts could help find him?”
Before Sirius could answer, there were several loud cracks as someone aparated close to the house. Sirius’s senses went off as he pulled Kingsley to the ground as red spells were sent hurling through the windows.
Growling, he shouted, “WATCH WHERE YOU’RE HURLING THOSE SPELLS! WE’RE FRIENDLIES!”
“SIRIUS BLACK!” The voice, Crouch, Sirius thought darkly, “YOU ARE UNDER ARREST! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND WAND OUT!”
“Crouch made his move, didn’t he?” Kingsley said, looking at Sirius with an amused look, “About time. Operation Fish Hook then?”
Sirius grinned, “Yes, lets take care of the fool.”
Sirius was up on his feet and shouted, “CROUCH! YOU’RE CURRENTLY VIOLATING A CRIME SCENE AND ARE BORDERING ON TREASON! I’D SUGGEST YOU DROP IT BEFORE WE HAVE TO PUT YOU DOWN!”
Crouch seemed taken aback by this, Sirius grinned as he knew Crouch hated anything to do with the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black after they trashed his family ages ago. With his mind trying to figure out what was going on, Sirius sent out a red flare from his wand, causing all Aurors that saw it to turn and take out those that appeared. Crouch and the two people that he had with him were dropped with stunners and incarceration spells.
“Andrews, Stevens!” Sirius called out, “Get these three into DMLE cells and then come back for this fourth one, a greasy haired bat named Snape.”
Oh, Sirius was going to have a field day when he got back to the DMLE. That was until a badger Patronus ran up to him as spoke.
“Dark Figure, unknown origins,” It said in a male shaking voice, “crimson blade that blocks spells and cuts through anything we can throw at it. South end of Godric's Hollow! Send reinforcements!”
Sirius grimaced, “Kingsley, get another team from the Department, I’ll stay here to keep Snape from leaving.”
As Kingsley departed, Sirius sighed as this was going to turn into another long night.
Darth Vader sidestepped the last assailant that had started to attack him before using the force to crush his knees, smirking as the man cried as he collapsed. With a swift kick to his head, he was unconscious. The Sith swiftly left, the Force warning him of more arriving. He swiftly moved into the darkness of the night, letting his dark armored suit blend him into the shadows before moving to where the Force guided him. It was also surprising that the young Harry was still sleeping in his grip, hidden under his cloak to protect him from the cold. He moved further and further away from the ambush until he was hidden in a dark forest.
He moved his cape to look upon the child, running a finger through his black hair before feeling a presence he hadn’t felt since Malachor. In the instant between heartbeats, Vader was up with his crimson blade in hand as it crashed against the white blades of his once thought dead apprentice.
“Ahsoka,” He breathed, looking at the young Togruta that had been his family, “You’re alive.”
Ahsoka Tano looked about the same age she had been when he had created the 332nd Company for her to take to Mandalore to deal with Maul, making her around seventeen. On her hips were the lightsabers he had given her before she left with Bo-Katan, in her hands were the ones that she had used against him on Malachor. In the force though, she was an old soul. He had come to the realization that he was one as well, as he was in a younger body that was around the time he had turned into Vader. Thankfully, his body was far from the burnt husk that he had turned into.
“Vader,” She hissed, pushing against his blades, “should have known you were behind this.”
Vader couldn’t help but tilt his head at her accusation before he said, “And with what logic do you find yourself using to explain that?”
That made the young Togruta pause, giving Vader the opening he needed to push Ahsoka’s weapons away. Opening his hand, Vader called on the force to catch his deactivating weapon in the air as he grabbed both of Ahsoka’s wrists. The weakness of Jar’kai was that in cold range combat, if the opponent grabbed their wrists, they could not defend themselves. Ahsoka yelped as he squeezed until she dropped her weapons, the curved hilts falling to the ground.
“Unlike what you believe, Snips,” Vader couldn’t help but smirk at Ahsoka’s disgusted look, “the last memories I have is of my death after I threw Palpatine into the Death Star’s reactor and seeing the face of my son. I’m sure you have something else to worry about, like we had on Mortis.”
Ahsoka blinked before whispering, a tear running down her cheek as she winced in pain, “A-Anakin? M-my wrists?”
He let her go before grabbing his lightsaber, putting it on his belt, “collect your lightsabers, we must move before we are ambushed here.”