Ben's first lesson in the dark side started the next day on Bogan. After the early morning meditation, Master Ketu knelt across from Ben.

'What do you feel?' the long-dead Je'daii asked.

'I'm not sure', Ben admitted.

'How did your father teach you to feel the light?'

'By focusing on its core component.'

'Which is?'

'Peace.'

'Correct. Now, what is the core component of the dark?'

'Uh… war?' Ben asked. He was really resenting his father now for not telling him more about the dark side. Especially so as he saw Ketu's lip curl.

'Funny', Ketu said. 'I wasn't aware that war was an emotion.'

'I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound-'

'Stupid?' Ketu interrupted. 'Well, it's a bit late for that. Let me tell you what the dark side truly involves.'

The Je'daii held up his right hand. 'The light side of the Force is accessed through the more peaceful emotions such as calmness. The dark side, however,' Ketu continued, holding up his left hand, is accessed through… raw emotions, such as anger and passion. That is why the old Jedi taught their subordinates not to feel those emotions… and why it was your grandfather's love for his wife that caused him to turn on them.'

Ben flinched.

'Don't worry', Ketu soothed. 'I do not judge people for the actions of their family. That can make enemies out of potential allies.'

'So', Ben said, hurriedly trying to shift the subject, 'in order to use the dark side, I must… focus on what makes me angry?'

'That is an option, yes, but not the only one. However, that is the one we shall start with.' Ketu stood up, and instructed Ben to do the same. Then to Ben's surprise, the ghost waved his hand, and a giant shard of rock rose out of Bogan's surface.

Ben stared at Ketu. 'You can still use the Force? Even in death?'

'That's not important right now', Ketu replied. 'Draw your lightsaber, and cut the rock in half.'

Ben drew one of his lightsabers, and made a horizontal slash at the rock. Expecting the blade to slice clean through, as it had done to every single object Ben had previously trained his lightsaber on, he was caught off guard, and off balance, when the lightsaber simply bounced off the rock.

Ben stumbled back. 'Wha…' he gaped. There wasn't so much as a dent on the rock.

Grinning, Ketu explained. 'It's a test we would use for Je'daii who had fallen too close to the light. You can slice through the rock… but only if you've tapped into the dark side.'

'Okay. So, the same principle as the light, but with raw emotion instead of peace?'

Ketu nodded.

Ben closed his eyes, and concentrated. Back on Ossus, Luke had always told his students to focus on what gave them peace to control their abilities. Now Ben had to use what had made him angry in the past. And he knew exactly what to concentrate on. All the other Jedi students, how they'd ignored him, or worse, tried to humiliate him. They hadn't dared attract Luke's wrath, but there had been many instances where they'd stuck notes on his back saying 'kick me' and 'teacher's pet', and even thrown things at him when Luke wasn't looking. Even worse, when Ben had gone to his father, Luke had dismissed it as children playing games. Ben knew he was just busy rebuilding the Jedi Order, so he'd bottled his anger down, and kept it down. Now, Ben let his anger out and felt something in the Force… shift. And when he swung the lightsaber at the rock this time, it was with the fury of a bullied child who'd never received the justice he deserved. This time, the lightsaber went through the rock like it wasn't even there. As the sliced half fell to the ground, Ben looked at Ketu, who was smiling approvingly.

'Very well done', he said. 'Most apprentices don't succeed the second time. The Force must be exceptionally strong in your family.'

'It is', Ben answered as he deactivated his lightsaber. 'So now it's been established I can use the dark side… how do we know I won't be seduced by it like my grandfather was?'

'Because your grandfather never had Lesson Two.'

'Lesson Two? Is that what I'm about to learn now?'

'No', Ketu answered as he raised his hand. The severed half of the rock flew back onto its other half, fixing itself like Ben had never sliced through it. 'It's what you'll learn after you slice through this rock twenty more times. Or until dawn comes round again.'

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Fortunately, Ben was able to slice through the rock twenty more times before dawn broke. It had actually gotten a lot harder towards the end. Consistently using raw emotion tended to tax one's energy, even with the help of the Force. Ketu assured Ben that, like all skills, it would get easier with practice.

The next day, Ben found himself back on Tython for Lesson Two. Outside the Temple, Ketu appeared, and instructed Ben to sit down. And then he explained.

'In the time of the Je'daii, younglings would learn to use the light side and the dark simultaneously, so by the time they were fully grown, they would be completely at ease with both, able to use both sides of the Force without succumbing to either side.'

'You, however', Ketu explained, 'were raised solely in the light side. Therefore, you have become much more vulnerable to the pull of the dark side than you were before you began your Jedi training.'

'The old Jedi were able to last thousands of years without succumbing to the dark side', Ben pointed out. Luke had often used this as a factor against Ben's arguments to study the dark side. Which is why Ben was surprised when Ketu simply laughed.

'The Jedi Order fell over two dozen times before anybody even knew the name Skywalker existed. Two dozen times in separate areas of history, people believed the Jedi to be extinct. And every time the Jedi Order fell, it was because one of their own fell into darkness and burnt everything down. Every. Single. Time.'

'Then why would the Jedi not look for a solution?'

'Hubris. Pride. Their own belief that it was the will of the Force and not their arrogance which caused the Order to crumble, over and over again. But anyway, I'm getting off-track. You can become Je'daii, but there is something you need to do to be able to study the dark side safely.'

'Which is?'

'Something we would use for… difficult Padawans.' Ketu said. 'It goes as follows':

'Flowing through all, there is balance

There is no peace without passion to create

There is no passion without peace to guide

Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act

Power blinds without the serenity to see

There is freedom in life

There is purpose in death

The Force is all things and I am the Force.'

'A mantra?' Ben asked. 'What does it mean?'

'Many things', Ketu explained.

'Flowing through all, there is balance. A reminder that the different sides of the Force cannot be separated without consequences. If the dark side gained dominance, life would be destroyed. But if the light side ruled, the galaxy would fall to lethargy and idleness.

There is no peace without passion to create, and no passion with peace to guide. Passion is an essential part of life, but to be used in a constructive manner, inner peace with oneself is required. For passion without peace is madness, and peace without passion is apathy.

Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act, and power blinds without the serenity to see. Promoting and maintaining peace is a noble calling, but if one knows what is necessary to ensure it, and is unwilling to do it, their goals are doomed from the start. In the same regard, having power and not having a purpose behind it beyond increasing said power is meaningless.

There is freedom in life, and there is purpose in death. Sometimes laws and other forms of rule must be broken for a greater good in the name of bringing order to chaos, but that does not mean they should be abolished altogether. The coexistence of order and chaos is what keeps the galaxy evolving. And death may be considered an unfortunate path of life, but it can never be considered unnatural.

Finally, The Force is all things and I am the Force. Good or evil, the Force is the lifeblood of the galaxy. To truly be Je'daii, one cannot choose only one side. To us, there is no light side, and there is no dark- there is simply the Force. If you want to truly bring balance back to the Force, you have to embrace it all. You have to be the balance.'

Ketu looked at Ben, who was struggling to take it all in. 'Do not worry', Ketu said, 'it will be easier with practice.'

Ben looked at Ketu. 'I have a question', the young Skywalker said.

'Yes?'

'Have any Jedi or Sith ever tried to become Je'daii before me?'

'Yes. Both their Orders called them "Grey Jedi".'

'Are there any Grey Jedi left in the galaxy?'

'Only Ahsoka. And you, soon enough.'

'Good', Ben said. Then a sudden thought struck him. 'I have to call my father. I've been gone for days already. He must be worried sick by now.'

'Well, if he's tried calling you, it wouldn't have worked', Ketu answered.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, in case you didn't notice when you first arrived, Tython and its moons are strong in the Force. So strong, in fact, that there are barriers all around them, which prevent all forms of off-world communication'.

'Is there any way you can take the barrier down, so I can call my father?' Ben asked.

Ketu closed his eyes, his face screwing up in concentration. 'Try it now, I can't hold this forever.'

Ben quickly pulled out his holovid, and saw 34 missed calls from Dad displayed on it. Oh dear, Ben thought.

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Luke was worried. No, not worried. He was terrified. The second Han and Chewbacca had arrived on Ossus without Ben, Luke had feared the worst, then felt relieved that his son was alright, then feared the worst all over again when he realised that Ben was on a planet Luke had never heard of all by himself. Luke had tried calling Ben on his holovid, to no avail. What on earth was he doing? Despite his incessant curiosity, Ben had never displayed a sense of adventurousness like Luke knew he had done when he was Ben's age, dreaming of seeing the galaxy while stuck as a farm boy on Tatooine. Luke wondered what he would say to Mira if Ben got himself killed. They hadn't known each other very well during their brief affair, but Luke knew the temper on that woman was enough to scare Chewbacca senseless. Then Luke's holovid beeped, displaying Ben's name, and Luke breathed a sigh of relief. He answered the call, and a hologram of Ben appeared.

'Hey', Luke's son said. He looked sheepish. 'Look, I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls before, but something happened-'

'I don't care', Luke said, unable to stop a relieved grin breaking out on his face. 'Are you alright? Are you hurt?'

'I'm fine. It's just… I won't be coming back for a while.'

'What?' Luke asked, feeling the grin on his face sliding off as quickly as it appeared. 'Why? What's so great about Tython?'

'I've found... a teacher.'

'A teacher?'

'Yes. She's offered to show me other aspects of the Force, other features which you don't know about. The thing is, she kind of… can't leave the planet, so if I want to learn, I have to stay.'

'Why can't she leave the planet?'

'It's… complicated', Ben answered.

'I want to speak to this "teacher",' Luke said. Ben promptly stood aside in the hologram, and a Togruta woman took his place.

'Hello, Master Skywalker,' she smiled warmly at Luke, as though he was an old friend instead of someone she'd just met. 'Don't worry, your son is in good hands here'.

'I don't know that for sure', Luke growled. 'Why should I trust you, anyway? And what are you teaching my son?'

'You should trust me because I knew your father, before… before…' the Togruta looked down, as if in shame.

'You knew my father?' Luke asked in surprise. 'Are you a Jedi, then?'

'Yes, my name is Ahsoka Tano. I managed to evade Order 66 and the Purge, and I ended up on Tython. I've been here ever since', Ahsoka answered. 'As to what I'm teaching your son, well… what I'm teaching him are the old ways. The way the Jedi Order worked before we were all but wiped out. I can assure you, I will make sure Anakin's grandson does not stray from the correct path. He seems to have almost a pathological interest in the dark side.'

'Yes, that sounds like him', Luke said. Maybe this could work. It surely couldn't hurt for Ben to learn more about being a Jedi that Luke himself couldn't teach, and maybe he would even be able to teach Luke some new things. Luke pondered it over.

'Alright', Luke decided. 'But Ben comes home at every possible opportunity.'

'Not a problem', Ahsoka replied, as Ben appeared back on screen. The two Skywalkers talked for a little while longer, then said their goodbyes.

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Ben looked around as he finished the call, at Ketu as the Je'daii opened his eyes. Ben instantly sensed something pass over them, and his holovid went dead again.

'You lied to your father', Ketu stated.

'We both did', Ahsoka said, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder in comfort.

'Do you know why?' Ketu asked.

'I don't wanna break his heart… and I sensed he would never understand the importance of what we are doing here, no matter how hard I tried to convince him,' Ben realised.

'Good', Ketu said. 'That's enough lessons for today. Meet me here tomorrow for your next lesson.'

'What will it be about?'

'Concealing your true nature from other Force-sensitives. We can't have your father finding out the truth.'