I don't own Star Wars. This takes place in the universe of Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi.

He wasn't truly sure how to refer to himself now, though he was leaning towards Skywalker. While it might not matter to Luke, who insisted on calling him father or Anakin Skywalker, or to the rest of the Rebels, who never stopped calling him Darth Vader, it mattered greatly to the conflicted Force user. Anakin had been the name of a young and arrogant Jedi Knight, overconfident in his abilities and destiny. Darth Vader had been the name of a vile and murderous Sith Lord, tortured by the memory of his mistakes and punishing the rest of the galaxy for something it wasn't responsible for. Neither names were fitting for the man he was now, a man trapped between darkness and light, a man tortured by his mistakes and regrets but finally accepting only he was to blame, a man who knew that he was to die once he was no longer of any use.

He wondered how Obi-Wan would react to see his apprentice now, having rejected the dark side and determined to atone. Would he feel proud that the boy he trained still lived, or insulted that he was getting a second chance at all? Luke had said that both Obi-Wan and Yoda could speak to him as ghosts, and while he didn't know the specifics he said they told him they learned it from someone named Qui-Gon. Skywalker had almost laughed when he learned that, as he realised Yoda hadn't been going crazy all those years ago with his talks about talking with Obi-Wan's dead master. For awhile Skywalker had wondered if they would try to talk to him, but nobody came. Not that he could blame either of them, considering all the horrible things he has done. For a brief time he had wondered if Padme and his mother had also been able to see what he had done from wherever it was people went when they died, but he quickly made sure to push that idea out of his mind. He was tortured enough by all the things he knew to be true, and no good would come from torturing himself about things that might be true.

Skywalker was in his quarters, though he knew it was in truth a cell. He imagining there was plenty of cameras observing him meditate right now, people ready to press a button that would gas the room or even electrocute him through the floor. He knew for a fact there were four guards outside, all terrified that they had been given the duty of guarding the biggest war criminal in the galaxy. He believed one was married and had a child, and every time he took his post he called his family to tell them he loved them. Just in case today was the day the cyborg Sith Lord would kill him.

When Luke had taken Skywalker to the Rebels months ago, they had been less than thrilled. A reasonable response, though at times Skywalker found it strange they didn't shoot him the second they saw him. At first none had been willing to give Skywalker a chance, and some even began to fear Luke when he announced he was Darth Vader's son. Thankfully Skywalker had retained enough common sense to tell the Rebels vital information, about the Empire and planets they could hide on, and luckily they decided to ignore common sense and give him a chance. Once they found he had been honest, they slowly allowed him more autonomy and promised him a pardon under the agreement he would help destroy the Empire and capture Sidious. While Luke was naive enough to believe that promise, Skywalker was not. If he failed to bring them Sidious or they suspected him of betraying the Rebellion, they would kill him. If he brought them Sidious, they would thank him and Skywalker would spend however much time he had left awaited for whatever assassin would come some to kill him for what he had done as Vader. Because there was no chance Darth Vader, the man who wiped out the Jedi Order, the monster that butchered worlds, the inhuman cyborg that killed innocent children would be allowed to live freely. Nobody, with the exception of Luke who somehow sees goodness that Skywalker doubts to be anything more than love for his family, would allow that to happen.

So regardless of what happens, the destiny of the so called Chosen One was to die the second he was no longer of any use. It was almost fitting that the fate that awaited him as Darth Sidious' apprentice was the same fate that awaited him not as an ally to the Rebellion.

Even when he had become Vader, Skywalker had still held onto the hope he was still the Chosen One. That he was still somehow bringing balance to the Force, that he was still the hero despite the fact he was drowning in the blood of the billions of people he had killed. They might not all have been by his hands, but he gave the orders on the Death Star and everyone followed his orders out of fear. He might not have pulled the trigger, but those deaths are all on him.

Now that he has accepted that everything bad that had happened to him was in some way the result of his own actions, Skywalker doubted the authenticity of the prophecy. Perhaps it was nothing more than a story, spread during a time of great conflict and pain to give the Jedi hope. Maybe a Jedi went mad and screamed about his so called visions and prophecies to anyone who could hear him. It was also likely that a Sith planted the idea of the prophecy thousands of years ago to give the Jedi some kind of false hope. Or maybe the prophecy was a joke of some kind, made up by some deceptive younglings who fooled one of their elders into believing in it. All were incredibly likely from where Skywalker was standing, as he thought back to everything that had happened to him in his life.

Of course there was another explanation, an explanation that was far less cynical, and it was that he was never the Chosen One in the first place. Perhaps the Chosen One is yet to be born, perhaps the Sith are meant to be destroyed a thousand years from now. This was not the first time the Jedi had been driven to extinction by the Sith only to return and so the same to their ancient enemies, so perhaps everything Skywalker had done was just another chapter in the conflict that never seemed to end.

Or maybe he was still connected to the prophecy somehow and it had simply been misinterpreted due to a lack of context and understanding. Now that he thought about it, assuming he was recalling the specifics of the prophecy correctly, it was never specifically said the Chosen One would bring balance to the Force. It said through him ultimate balance would be achieved, and that is a big distinction. Since his former master was all that remained of the Sith, ignoring Skywalker himself, perhaps Luke was the one to bring balance by defeating him. He had certainly achieved what many Jedi had deemed impossible by bringing Skywalker back to the light, so it could be him. While his relationship with Leia was tense despite her saving him from dying on the rebuilt Death Star, tense being the polite way to put it, he could sense her connection to the Force. She could easily be trained to be the Jedi if she embraced the idea, so it could be her. Or maybe it's neither of them, but any future children they might have. Shortly before capturing Luke, both the Emperor and Skywalker had sensed an incredible disturbance in the Force and he had chosen meditated on the issue in private. While he failed to find anything concrete, he had succeeded in having names swirl around his mind. Ben, Jaina, Cade and Jacen to name a few, and he had been puzzled by their meaning. Of course he had pushed the names out of his mind when his son was captured, but now he wonders if they were more important than he realised.

Skywalker sighed, dispelling his mind of such thoughts. He was doing it again, where he tried to rationalize his actions and justify his ego. Trying to convince himself that he was still the Chosen One and there was some grand plan where somehow, every vile act of violence and death he was responsible for will end up making the galaxy a better place. The truth was, he was nothing more than a Jedi who fell to the dark side and by some miracle found himself back in the light. He wasn't special, he was a monster with the impossible task of trying to atone for the horrific acts he had committed. For however long he lived he will be reminded about what he was by every whisper from Rebels, by every pained look his daughter had when she saw him, by the very darkness inside him that still screamed to be unleashed upon anyone he saw.

He stood up, knowing the time for meditation was over. Many Imperials were hiding on Kashyyyk, and Skywalker had agreed to help capture them and free the wookies who had been forced into being slaves. As he exited his room, surprising the guards who nervously gripped their weapons for some self assurance, he told them of where he was going and allowed them to lead him to the meeting. As he followed them, he continued to push away thoughts about the prophecy and the future to focus on the task at hand.

After all, he is to be killed when he is no longer of any use. He has no reason to concern himself with a future he will not be part of.

Tell me what you think and if there are any spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make. I know this is a little weird, but I was fascinated by the idea of what a redeemed Darth Vader's mental state would actually be like and how different he would be from canon. I also wanted to provide a logical explanation for why the Rebellion would work with Darth Vader, and this was what I could come up with. After all, Vader might have redeemed himself in Luke's eyes but the same wouldn't be true for everyone else.