"Luke? Leia?"

"Here!"

Han followed the voice until he found its owner. Leia was standing by her brother. The twins were waiting for them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Solo.

Luke nodded grimly. "Now more than ever. Look."

The Jedi Knight shined his lightsaber on the wall. Leia and Han aimed their white flashlights next to the green glow. There were markings carved into the walls, along with...

"Blood," Leia announced.

"And ancient Sith runes."

"This isn't just a survey base," Han realized.

"It's dedicated to the Sith," Luke finished.

Chewbacca let out a low and worried moan.

"You said it, Chewie. You've seen enough, kid?"

"Yeah. I suddenly have a bad feeling about this."

Han learned the hard way that if Luke has a bad feeling, it was more than just a feeling.

"Great. Then let's go."

The team turned on their heels and started to walk back to the entrance. Their exit was lit so innocently with the light of day. Suddenly, Luke stopped.

Laughter echoed in his ears. He knew that laugh.

"There's no escape. You are mine, Skywalker."

No.

Luke covered his ears, but it did nothing to block out the mocking laughter in his head. He tried to focus on his breathing and meditation to calm himself, to tap into the Force and push away the dark presence. The laughter grew even louder and he realized he had no control of the Force here. The Dark Side was too powerful.

"Hey, kid, you all right?"

"Luke, what's wrong? I... Why can't I sense what's wrong?"

"It's the Dark Side, Leia. It's strong here." He hissed as though in pain. "Palpatine, I... I can't get him out of my head."

"Luke, listen to me. Palpatine is gone. Vader is gone. They can't touch you."

He tried to focus on the calming voice of his sister, to latch on to something light in the midst of the darkness drowning him. It was no use. There was no refuge in the endless sea of darkness.

Sea was the right word to describe it. Like an ocean current, the Dark Side pulled away from his friends, from the Light. Giant waves crashed upon him, dragging him down to the depths.

It pained Han so to watch his brother suffer before his eyes. He had no clue what was happening. All he did know was that Luke was hurting and he needed to protect him.

"Kid, it's all right. Take my hand and we'll just walk right on outta here. If this place is so strong with the Dark Side, we'll just leave. There's nothing stopping us from doing that."

Hesitantly, Luke removed one hand from his ear and reached out to take Han's offered hand.

Before their fingers could touch, something violently pushed them apart. Han's back hit the floor, almost knocking the air out of his lungs. Luke lay on the ground a few feet away.

"Luke! Han!" Leia screamed. Chewbacca roared in shock. Leia ran towards her brother, but was also pushed away, away from the two men she loved most. Chewbacca managed to reach Han's side without difficulty and helped him up.

The laughter continued, even more maniacal than before. Except Luke realized it wasn't in his head anymore. Han, Leia and Chewbacca drew their blasters and started aiming wildly above, trying to pinpoint where the laughter was from. It echoed from everywhere.

"Nothing stopping you?" the voice cackled. "You have no power here. There is only the Dark Side!"

"What do you want?" Han shouted bravely.

"What do I want? I already have it. Young Skywalker has always been mine. Since the day his father swore allegiance to me."

"I won't let you touch him."

Palpatine only laughed again at Han's defiance. Suddenly, the floor beneath Luke's feet disappeared and he was falling into the abyss.

"Luke!" Leia screamed again. As though grabbed by an invisible hand, Leia was jerked back into a dark hallway and disappeared.

"Leia!" Han tried to follow her, but something grabbed his collar. He groped frantically behind him, but felt nothing. Then, like Leia, he was dragged back into the shadows. The last thing he heard was Chewbacca's roar of fear and confusion.

There was no escape from the power of Emperor Palpatine.