Bygone

Chapter 1 - Dragons

Author's Note: Well, this is technically for two things. First and foremost, this is the gift request for Sinvulkt, who requested it eons ago. Secondly, this is part of a May 4th Exchange I joined on ao3. :P

To Sinvulkt: Sorry for taking so long to write this! I hope you enjoy the outcome! :D

I'll be posting this every other Friday, and there are three chapters. ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Luke Skywalker finds it more than a little strange that there's less resistance from Imperial troopers the closer he and the rest of the Rebels get to the Throne Room. Why would there not be more? Unless, of course, this is some master plan to lure them into a trap and kill them. He might be more worried about that if he wasn't training to be a Jedi, and if Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano weren't there. They – or Obi-Wan at least, because Ahsoka insists otherwise – are fully trained Jedi.

"I don't like it either," Obi-Wan assures him as a blaster bolt from behind them takes down the last stormtrooper in their path. He probably senses Luke's uneasiness.

Luke reaches out with the Force, but he doesn't sense any danger in the Throne Room. To the contrary, he only feels something... large and dark, something not... human? Lightsaber positioned in front of him, he steps forwards and pushes the button to open the doors. With a slight whine, the doors slide open, and the Rebels step inside into the gloom within. One by one, overhead lights come on, illuminating the massive chamber.

In the front of the room is a large, ornate throne, but that's not what brings the Rebels to a standstill. No. It's the enormous dragon sprawled in the center of the room, absently pushing a bone across the floor with a claw. It's black, entirely black, so black that it doesn't even look natural. Red, glowing eyes stare at them as it slowly rises to all four legs. Its body is scaly, reptilian-like, though its belly is soft and smooth-looking. Large, leathery wings arch from its back, twitching at it looks down at them from its massive height of fifteen or twenty feet. It has a long, spiked tail which is lying on the floor.

A low, growl rumbles from its throat as it bears its long teeth in a snarl, taking a menacing step forward. That reveals the bones and – is that dried blood? – tattered black-and-red robes on the floor behind it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the skull currently lying on the floor must have belonged to the Emperor. Presumably. If not for the situation, Luke might actually find it amusing that he was eaten by his own pet.

"Huh," Leia says behind him, "So the rumors are true then. The Emperor did have a pet dragon."

All eyes turn on her. "You knew of this?" Obi-Wan asks, visibly surprised, though there's a shadow of something else in his eyes, some feelings of disquiet to which he doesn't give voice.

She hums an agreement. "My –" she hesitates, pain flitting across her face, "My father told me about it once, a long time ago. He said that it was called Vader. He never saw it himself, but he heard about it, alright."

Some unnamed emotion flashes across Obi-Wan's face. "How curious," is all he says as he looks back at the monstrous dragon standing there.

Luke feels a pull in his gut, leading him towards it, and he cautiously takes a few steps closer, extinguishing his lightsaber and holding up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Luke, don't," his master warns, but he doesn't listen to him.

He can't. It's as if he's... hypnotized somehow, some long-buried instinct, both in him and in the Force, pulling him towards the dragon. When he gets within a hundred feet of it, it lowers its head, a low rumble escaping it as it studies him curiously, seeming just as entranced with him as he is with it. And then, suddenly, all at once, something changes. Luke's senses sharpen, and a burning pain spreads through his body, almost as if his every muscle and bone are being ripped apart and snapped.