Balance
Summary: Light and dark. Good and evil. Love and hate. The force was all about balance. And yet, neither of them knew where they stood.
Author's Note: Hello everyone. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! Happy holidays! Happy Festivus (I know I had a couple of grievances that I aired out). As always, I really appreciate the reviews that you have given me. It's probably the best Christmas present of all – to know that there are people out there who enjoy (and look forward to) the work that I put out there.
I apologize for not updating the past two days. I've been on an "update-a-day" kick since I started this. I fully intended for keeping it up. But I was in a car accident Wednesday, and had to deal with all of the fallout from that (still am dealing with it, actually). I'm okay, the other person involved is okay, but my car definitely is not. Which means I have my entirety of winter vacation to sort out a new car situation so I can return to work when I need to. Needless to say, I will be a little distracted.
On the other hand, for the most part, I cannot go anywhere. Which means I will have nothing to do for ten days but sit in front of a computer and write (some of you will thank me for it), or grade all of my students' projects (my students will NOT thank me for it). Neither of this is what I had hoped, but I am trying to look on the bright side here. Just a fair warning, this chapter is going to be a bit shorter than any other ones, because of everything that has been going on.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far! Especially ainums, khaleesiofthewolves, guest, sunnyontheheights, elen-di, JJwolf, Torchwood Boy, aleone84, ceruleon, elorra8787. Guest, sheepzus, cat, ourcityislove, guest, snoy Analia, TheKatieBugg, guest, shippergirlky, cathoo, sharpestsatire, ForeverDelighted, bluejustice13, TiaraofSapphires, caitysays, nevergreen, The-Splatoon-Rook 64.
Sharpestsatire – I don't know yet! I have a story arc planned out, but not so much chapter plans as of yet. Although, I have to say – sometimes I plan for a certain plot point to take one chapter to write out and it will take two. So I try not to think too much about that.
Torchwood Boy – Lots of questions! Yes, we will see Luke training Rey! And the relationship between Finn and Poe – really interesting. I have to say I enjoy the speculation on the Internet, and I can get behind them as a ship! Who know… maybe we'll see some of that. And this fic is definitely Kylo/Rey, but Finn/Rey will be discussed.
And now, on with the fic!
Chapter Four: Light and Dark
Rey's eyes opened with a start, she was gasping for breath. Beads of sweat pooled on her forehead; she wiped them off furiously. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lights around her - she was on the Millennium Falcon, back to safety. Her ribs were bandaged from the banging they took from their narrow escape from the First Order earlier during the day. There was no evidence of her run in with Kylo Ren in the woods anywhere.
Was that all just a dream?
It took Rey a few more moments to catch her breath. She was aboard the Falcon. She was safe. She repeated that over and over in her head, like a mantra. You are on the Falcon. You are safe. You are on the Falcon. You are safe. It took her a few long moments, but eventually she was able to get her erratic breathing back down to normal.
She stared up at the roof of her small bunk as she tried to calm down. How is it that the bastard could have gotten into her head? She had always had nightmares about the man, ever since she first encountered him. He was always there, attempting to seduce her to the dark side of the Force. But this was something different. Something more powerful. Something more sinister.
I should have kept my guard up, Rey cursed herself, and it is all my fault for letting him in in the first place.
Rey knew that she would never be able to fall back to sleep now. She was far too frightened to; she knew that the second she closed her eyes, he would be there. She brought herself up into a sitting position, and brought her hands to her eyes. She rubbed them furiously. She was angry at herself for getting in to this mess. Was this what he life was going to be from now on? Haunted by a masked man, no matter where she was in the galaxy? Somehow, she knew that returning to a life of peaceful solitude on Jakku was no longer an option for her.
With a sigh, Rey got up from her bunk. If she was not going to be able to sleep, she had to do something to occupy her thoughts until they reached D'Qar. Grabbing what tools she could find, the former scavenger went out in search of something that needed to be fixed on this flying scrap metal of a ship.
Rey did not get very far. As soon as she entered the cockpit area, she saw Luke Skywalker sitting in the captain's seat. He did not say anything; Rey doubted if he even noticed that she was there. Quietly, she tried to creep back in the direction that she came from. But it was to no avail, the Jedi master could already sense her presence.
"What did he say to you? When he was in pursuit of it?" No words of greeting. The old man did not have time for such niceties.
Rey bit the bottom of her lip nervously, she did not want to admit it to the Jedi. And yet, she knew that lying to him would be no use. She was a terrible liar, and he would be able to detect the falsehood easily with his skills no matter what. "He told me to come to him. That he would give me the answers that I am looking for. About my family."
Luke Skywalker did not look surprised, as if he had been expecting this. He did, however, look resigned. "The Dark Side can do many things, Rey. If you went to Kylo Ren, he very well may be able to give you the answers you seek."
Rey raised her eyebrows; she had not been expecting the Jedi to be so candid with her. So honest. "But I thought that –"
"The Dark Side of the Force is powerful, Rey," Luke sighed, "There is no denying that. I can do things that the Light cannot. It would be a falsehood to say otherwise."
Rey's eyes shifted towards the ground, she did not want to look the master Jedi in the eye, "Then why tell me this? Why make that temptation even greater?"
"Because you must understand," Luke Skywalker took Rey's hands. She was so startled, she looked up. His old, wise eyes bore deep into hers, "I tried to keep the powers of the Dark Side hidden from a student of mine once. I tried to protect him. And, when the time came, he was tempted, and he fell. You must understand that the Dark Side is powerful, and so tempting. But it also comes at a great price."
Rey nodded, a clear sign that she understood his words.
Luke Skywalker continued, "I cannot shield you from the Dark Side. That was my original mistake. It must exist, for without it, the light would not exist either. Light and dark must exist side by side. The most we can do is seek to understand. Balance must be found, after all."
"Balance," Rey repeated his words, not fully understanding them. "But we cannot simply allow monsters like Kylo Ren to continue destroying planets."
The old man closed his eyes, "There is much still that you do not understand. I did not, either, when I was young. I have only learned it recently, in my time in exile."
Rey felt herself getting frustrated with the cryptic words of the old man, "Then explain it to me."
For the briefest of moments, Rey could have sworn she saw a smile from behind the old man's grey beard, "It is not something that can be understood from mere words."
"Then how will I ever know?"
"We will begin your training as soon as we reach D'Qar."
The rest of the flight back to the Resistance base went by without incident. Rey was surprised at that – she was sure that the First Order would send people out after them. Kylo Ren was not the kind of person to let people go without a fight.
And yet, they arrived safely on D'Qar to a cheerful welcoming committee.
General Organa was there to greet them. Finn and Poe Dameron were by her side, expectantly waiting for the crew of the Millennium Falcon to disembark from the ship. Rey's smile widened at the sight of Finn – she was so grateful that her friend was doing well after the injuries he sustained.
Chewbacca was the first of them to leave the ship. He was greeted with applause from members of the Resistance. Finn embraced the Wookiee, while Poe patted him on the back in welcome. Rey had to smile, it felt as though they had been gone for far too long. Taking a deep breath, she began to leave the Millennium Falcon. She stole one last glance behind her. She tried to give Luke the most encouraging smile that she could muster. The Jedi did not return the expression, but gave her a nod.
Rey walked down to meet her friends. Almost immediately, Finn and Poe ran up to the former scavenger and embraced her. Rey almost fell down from the sheer force of the two men as they attacked her with hugs. When they finally let her go, Finn began to inundate her with questions, "How was the trip? Did you encounter any trouble? You found him right? What is he liked?"
"You will have to determine that one for yourself," She replied with a slight laugh. But her words did not reach Finn's ears. He was already looking over her head, distracted by something. Rey turned around to see what the commotion was all about. Luke Skywalker was descending from the Millennium Falcon. Everyone around them stopped what they were doing to stare at the old Jedi. Rey whipped her head around again, this time looking for General Organa. The older woman was waiting with baited breath as Luke made his way off of the Falcon.
Rey pulled herself away from Finn and Poe, straining herself to get a better view of the reunion between the two estranged siblings. The general began to move now, her pace quickening as she began to make her way towards her brother. Although she had not known the Jedi very long, Rey could tell that he was struggling to keep his emotions hidden behind a cool exterior. Her heart went out to the old man, this had to be very difficult for him.
The Resistance watched on as the two siblings finally embraced. Rey could hear sobs coming from where the two of them stood, but whether they belonged to Luke or General Organa, she could not know.
"Luke, never ever do that again," Rey could hear the general's voice after the two of them ended their embrace.
"I had to leave," She heard the Jedi reply, "I failed you and Han. I failed Ben."
"You didn't fail us, Luke." His sister countered, touching her hand to his cheek, "Ben was tempted, and there was nothing that any of us could do." The sadness was evident in the battle-hardened general's voice. Rey's heart went out to the old woman.
"I could have better prepared him to face that temptation," Rey could hear the sorrow in the Jedi's voice. "If only I had understood the Force better when I began to train him. That was why I went away, Leia. I went to learn everything that I could. So that I could make things right."
The genera's voice raised, a new hope that Rey had never seen before shining through her words, "Do you think that you could bring him back to me?"
Luke looked up, meeting his sister's gaze, "I can try, Leia. It will be difficult, he has spent too much time learning the ways of the Dark Side. I heard what he did to Han – it is not something that a person could easily come back from." The Jedi's voice caught as he spoke about his dead friend.
"Please, Luke," The general pleaded, "Bring him back to me,"
"I swear to you, Leia," He gently grabbed her shoulders, his voice becoming more firm, "I will do everything in my power to bring your son back. But I am going to need some help."
With those final words, both the general and the Jedi looked towards Rey.
Author's Note: Well, there we are! Once again, I am sorry it's so short. But since I lack any sort of transportation to leave my house, maybe there will be an update soon!