Chapter 10: The force in balance
Rey and Anakin hurried through the palace with R2 and BB-9 close behind.
To their surprise they encountered no drones or warriors inside, just massive hallways.
"Snoke is near, I can sense his presence." Anakin said.
"So can I, the same power I felt when Lothal was destroyed. I can feel it growing." Rey said in concern.
"We need to hurry!"
They then found themselves in a massive chamber. The chamber had a clear but dark ceiling and a massive pair of pedestals in the center.
The corrupted force they sensed came from this room.
"What is this place?" Anakin asked as Rey touched one of the pedestals and felt a rush she had never felt before. She heard the screams and cries of pain from the people of Lothal, and then felt the cold emptiness.
Rey threw herself away from the pedestal as Anakin caught her.
"What's wrong?!"
Rey tried to breath.
"That thing, it's what he destroyed Lothal with."
Anakin looked back up at it.
R2 began beeping with BB-9, both sounding concerned as the two siblings saw they weren't alone.
Standing around them were ten of the red armored Greartok praetorian guards.
The guards whipped out their weapons , Anakin and Rey igniting their lightsabers and standing back to back.
"We've come this far, let's not let these fools stop us." Anakin said as Rey smiled.
"Time to see if Revan's teachings worked." Rey said as five rushed at her, the rest going for Anakin.
Rey met the first guard's lance with her lightsaber and followed it, keeping the blade away. A second guard trying to attack her flank, Rey moved alongside the first guard using her off hand to guide the second guard into the third with the force.
Rey carefully slid her saber along the side of the staff while thrusting forward. The praetorian guard lurched back and pushed Rey's saber away. However, Rey was prepared, she raised her hand as two guards behind her felt themselves being choked.
Rey hurled the two into their companion and then caught the fourth guard's dual blades. Rey carefully performing strikes at the weapons to keep the guard from taking advantage of the fact that her had two weapons.
All the while Rey waited for the others to try and swarm her. She smiled and unleashed a repulsing force blast that knocked each guard away from her. Targeting the first guard to get up, Rey leapt through the air. This praetorian predicted her move and readied his weapon, unfortunately for him, Rey thought ahead and hurled her lightsaber, the weapon coming around like a boomerang and staying through his back.
Rey caught her lightsaber as she landed the other four guards paying no mind to their companions death, simply attacked her again. Upon seeing this Rey realized she had another advantage.
Rey moved defensively , parrying each strike and countering with a force attack. When she isolated one of the guards, Rey held her hand up to his head.
"Your companions have betrayed Snoke, they have allowed your fellow guard to die, they must want him dead."
The praetorian held his head and shook it before turning to one of the other guards. Rey smiled seeing the guard tackle one of his companions to the ground.
Rey immediately took advantage of this and sprinted forward, ducking under two of the praetorians' attacks, using her smaller size to her advantage. Rey cut up and across one's leg. The Praetorian grunting in pain, but stayed standing. He came down with his whip , ensnaring Rey's lightsaber.
The second guard attempted to smash Rey with his lance, but Rey leg go of her saber and instead caught the lance with the force. The Je'daii champion guiding the lance into the first guard's head.
Rey now pulled her lightsaber free and leapt up, the second guard slashing up at her. Rey didn't aim her lightsaber at the Praetorian. She simply used it to knock his lance away. Instead Rey landed behind the guard, using force choke in mid air to drag him onto the ground.
Rey quickly slashed across his head , now turning to the two remaining guards. The one Rey had used her mind trick on recovered and came with his companion at her.
Rey waited for them to get closer before raising her hands two the ceiling. The two guards heard a cracking noise but only focused on Rey. Massive pieces of the ceiling crashed down onto the guards. However, as Rey suspected, this only slowed them down. The two Praetorians slowly pushing the debris off them.
With their weapons no longer in their hands, Rey used the force to stab the guards with them, the two finally dying.
All the while Anakin battled the the other five guards. Anakin moved more aggressively than Rey, each of his lightsaber strikes causing a massive telekinetic blast that forced each Praetorian away after a strike.
Anakin used this to keep the guards from swarming him. Focusing on one guard he knocked away the guard's weapon twice , finally seeing an opening and slashing forward across his stomach.
The guard collapsed to the ground, allowing Anakin to face the other four. The remaining praetorians holding their weapons up and rushing the Je'daii champion.
Anakin took a deep breath and unleashed a blast of force lightning that was whitish. The lightning hit two of the Praetorians and stopped them where they were. The other two thrusting their lances and blades at Anakin.
Anakin counter struck and used the blast of force energy to create and opening. He dove forward through the gap and caught the two praetorians with force stasis. The other guards having dropped their weapons from the force lightning, Anakin was able to pull them into the backs of the frozen guards.
The two remaining guards held their hands up and pulled their dead companions' weapons to their hands. Anakin watching them closely, keeping a sharp eye for more openings.
The first guard came high, the other low, both trying to cover for each other. However, it made little difference, Anakin's strikes knocked both of them away with the force blowbacks. Anakin waited until they one was in front of the other and then stabbed forward.
The two praetorian guards were still, Anakin feeling their bodied go limp when his lightsaber deactivated. The bodied falling onto each other.
"Not so bad when we can actually use the force on them." Rey said as she came over.
"All that's left is Snoke." Anakin said, the two regrouping with the droids before continuing into the palace.
The presence of Snoke got stronger the deeper into the palace they went. Eventually they reached a massive throne room. The room was different than Rey remembered it. Growing around the metal walls were a series of green plants. Vines, leaves, and even flowers. Sunlight shined down onto the black throne.
Snoke sat there , his twisted body slunk across the throne.
R2 made a low beep, remembering Snoke from Ossus.
Anakin and Rey took a deep breath before approaching the Omni. They lightsabers igniting as they faced him with intense expressions.
"Ahh the children of Skywalker, come to avenge their father." Snoke said while laughing.
"You come to save the galaxy from the wicked emperor. As if written on the pages of a child's book."
Rey looked again at the plants growing around the throne room.
"Beautiful isn't it, wherever death exists, there is also life. The cycle, the force. All shall prosper once my ascension to deity is completed. Yok-Vor, my children, all will live again."
"This ends now Snoke." Anakin said.
Snoke smiled again.
"Oh, have you come to beg me to abandon my wicked ways. To embrace peace and return to the teachings of the masters. So that I can once again become a Je'daii?" Snoke said in a mocking tone.
Rey shook her head.
"No, you die , now."
"You're going to kill me. With what, your toys." Snoke said as he waved his hand, Rey and Anakin's lightsabers deactivating.
"Or do you believe that you can kill me with the force." Snoke now seemed angry, standing up.
"So naive, you still don't understand, the force belongs to me!" Snoke screamed as he unleashed a blast of the black corrupted force lightning.
Anakin and Rey held their hands up and braced themselves. The lightning crashed into the two Je'daii. Anakin and Rey giving everything they had to keep the lightning back. Snoke looking almost impressed as he saw this.
Anakin and Rey both pushed forward, the black lightning bursting apart. Anakin and Rey reactivating their lightsabers.
"A god does not lower himself to fight mortals." Snoke said as he raised his other hand.
Rey and Anakin saw as several figures appeared. These figures took the form of Jedi and sith. Yoda, Palpatine, Hoth, Bane, Syo Bakarn, and Vitiate.
Each ignited a lightsaber and charged the two Je'daii champions.
Rey came forward and met Yoda's lightsaber, the small jedi illusion moving around acrobatically with fast strikes. Rey catching each while also using the force to keep Bane and Syo Bakarn back.
Anakin knocked away Palpatine's lightsaber blows with his own, Vitiate and Hoth facing similar results. The Palpatine Illusion unleashed a blast of force lighting at Anakin. However, Anakin used the force to easily knock it away before blasting his own force lightning into the illusion.
The false Palpatine vanished when the lightning hit him. Snoke raising one of his fingers up in response. The ground shook around Anakin, two metal spiked tentacles shooting up towards him.
Anakin slashed one apart with his lightsaber while holding the other back with the force.
Three shot up around Rey, who used repulse to force them back. The illusions still coming around Rey. The Je'daii champion watched their movements carefully and caught the three tentacles again, forcing them to move against Snoke's will. The Bane and Bakarn illusions being hit and vanishing.
The Yoda illusion leapt off each tentacle before jumping at Rey.
"Feel the power of the dark side." Rey said as she caught the illusion with a powerful force choke and crushed it, the tentacles being crushed with it.
Anakin used the force to rip the second tentacle out of the ground smashing it into the Hoth illusion. The final Vitiate illusion having six more tentacles shoot up around it. A laster beam flew from each tip, Anakin using his lightsaber to block the lasers and redirect them into the tentacles.
Rey leapt up over Anakin and came down onto the Vitiate illusion, slicing it in half.
Snoke raised his hands , bringing Anakin and Rey into the air. Snoke thrusted his hands forward , causing a thunderous blast of force energy that hurled the two back.
Snoke did this again, Anakin and Rey being forced back while also being racked in pain from the force of the blast.
Snoke slammed his foot into the ground as a tremor of force energy moved through the floor before erupting into a force quake around the two.
Snoke raised his hands again, but Anakin and Rey managed to unleash a combined blast of force energy. Snoke was hit and knocked back a few feet. Just enough for Rey and Anakin to rush forward with their lightsabers. Snoke looked as if he turned metal when they reached him.
Each of their lightsaber blows knocked away by Snoke's hands. The Omni about to strike again, when Anakin and Rey blasted him back into his throne.
Snoke reverted to his normal self.
"You can kill me, but will you kill them." Snoke said as he held his hand up, four more illusions forming.
Anakin and Rey's eyes widened as they saw Jiun, Kara, Luke, and Darth Vader stand before them. Each igniting their lightsabers.
Anakin and Rey felt uneasy watching the figures approach. Both trying to remember they were fake. Rey met Luke and Jiun's strikes with her lightsaber. Their blows fast and powerful, Rey doing her best to keep up.
Anakin had similar struggles as he exchanged blows with Darth Vader and Kara. His usual blow backs not taking effect. It became quite clear that these illusions were far more powerful than those they faced earlier.
When Rey faced Jiun and Luke, she tried to use the force but felt the same resistance she had before the island. Feeling the guilt of her father and Jiun's deaths. Luke raising his hand and blasting Rey with a blast of force energy.
Anakin similarly felt the pain of Kara's death again while he fought her illusion, and the drive to follow in Vader's footsteps.
The Vader illusion lifting Anakin up and hurling him over to Rey.
"How are you faring?" Anakin asked.
"Oh you know." Rey said as the illusions got closer.
"I have an idea. Are you haunted by Kara's death?"
"Not as much as you are."
"Perfect." Anakin said getting up.
He rushed forward and smashed his lightsaber into Jiun's illusion, the blowback knocking the illusion away.
Rey leapt over to the Kara illusion and knocked away both of her lightsabers. Eventually getting an opening and kicking her back.
Luke slashed at Anakin only for Rey to block the saber. Anakin moved beyond Rey and slashed at Vader, his strikes finally starting to have their impact again.
"I don't need to become you, not anymore." Anakin said as he forced Vader back.
Rey avoided Luke's blows and leapt over him, coming down onto Kara with her lightsaber striking in. The Kara illusion was stabbed and vanished.
"Sorry Kara." Rey said.
Anakin knocked Jiun's lightsaber away before slashing the illusion apart.
"I never liked you anyway." Anakin said before catching Luke's lightsaber.
"You are not our father." Anakin said while bringing the saber up. Rey stabbed forward from beside Anakin, hitting the illusion.
Only the Vader illusion remained, the two siblings now slashing at it together in synch. They both slashed across its chest and made the illusion vanish. Snoke's eyes opening.
"Enough!" He shouted while lifting the two up again and smashing them away.
Anakin and Rey's lightsaber's sent flying away from them. Snoke slowly walked forward and hit them again.
Anakin and Rey did their best to try and get up, but Snoke was relentless. He hit them again and again. When they hit the ground again, Anakin spotted his lightsaber near Snoke. As the Omni lifted them up again, Anakin quickly reached out and lifted up his saber.
Snoke was about to blast them again, when he felt something stab through him. Rey seeing Anakin's lightsaber beside Snoke's side and now active. Snoke looked down at the lightsaber as it stabbed all the way through his stomach.
Anakin and Rey felt a great relief before realizing they were still floating.
Snoke began to laugh hysterically. Reaching down and pulling the lightsaber out before his skin reformed where the burn marks had been.
Snoke tossed the lightsaber away before slamming the two into the ground.
Snoke raised both hands and blasted the blast lightning at them with everything he had.
Slightly disoriented, Anakin and Rey barely got to their feet with their hands up. They stopped the force lightning, but only temporarily, the blast slowly getting closer and closer to them.
Snoke having an eager expression on his face as the lightning got closer and closer. Sweat filling the bodies of Anakin and Rey. They gave everything they had, but the lightning kept coming.
They were forced to one knee and turned to each other.
Neither said anything, they simply had sad looks on their faces. Anakin reaching out to Rey who reached back. The siblings clasping hands and closing their eyes.
"Ghaaaaww!" The two heard, feeling the lightning's presence lessen. They looked over at Snoke who surged with blue electricity and cried out in pain.
"What is this!?"
Anakin and Rey looked down and saw behind Snoke was none other than R2D2 and BB-9. Both beeping angrily as they used their shockers to attack Snoke.
Snoke gave a look of pure rage as he turned to the droids.
"Insolent little-"
"This is it!" Rey shouted as she felt Snoke's presence weaken and raised her hand to his head.
Snoke saw himself in a black empty plain, nothing around him.
"What is this? Where am I?"
Snoke finally saw Rey in front of him, however, she was as big as he was. The Je'daii champion coming closer and pushing Snoke onto the ground with the force.
"What is this!?"
Rey smiled.
"I'm in your head."
"I am a god! How could those droids!?"
"Hurt you? Let me explain." Rey said as she lifted Snoke up and crashed him into the ground.
"You spent thousands of years corrupting the force, binding it to your will unnaturally, that you finally broke it. You turned the force around you , and yourself into a living machine. Which means something like a droid could truly hurt you." Rey said while smashing him further and further into the ground.
"You tried to consume the force,and now its finally fighting back!"
Rey was on her feet back in the throne room, Snoke's lightning wavering.
"Anakin now!" Rey shouted.
Anakin felt the power of Anakin Sr. and Darth Vader inside him. He rose to his feet and opened his eyes. Silver aura forming around him as he unleashed silver force lightning into the blast force lightning. Snoke's eyes widened as he saw the balanced-silver force lightning burn through his own black force lightning.
"No!" Snoke shouted as he tried to increase his power, but Rey's attack on his conscious and the droids' attack on his physical being made it too difficult.
"Keep it up R2! BB-9!" Rey shouted as they chirped in acknowledgement.
Anakin screamed , bringing the full power of the force in balance into his attack. The silver force lightning burning through the last of the black lightning before hitting Snoke.
"Ahhhh!" Snoke screamed, the balanced lightning burning through his entire body which carried into the droids.
"No!" Snoke's body burst with light around it. Rey and Anakin covering their eyes from the flash.
When they opened their eyes, Snoke's body turned to Ash and faded into nothing.
The two Je'daii fell to their backs, both trying to breath.
"We did it." Rey said.
"He's gone."
Across Coruscant, the coalition forces continued to fighting the Greartok defenders. Finn and the FN corps blasting at drones and warriors that tried to retake the senate plaza. However, the drones began acting erratically. Some shut down, others danced around, the rest began firing at each other.
The warriors' abilities stopped working, their armor seizing up before falling off their bodies. Blows from blaster rifles now having full effect on their exposed bodies , killing them.
The craft fell out of the sky and the carriers fun did the same.
In orbit , the armada saw the same thing happen to the Greartok reinforcements. Leia looking out and feeling the force in complete balance.
"They did it."
Lando began getting communications from the galactic alliance forces across the galaxy.
"Lando the Greartok forces are falling apart, I've never seen anything like it."
"Their drones are turning on them, their warriors are being slaughtered."
"Their fleets are stopping in place , it's a turkey shooting!"
On the ground the coalition armies began chanting in victory. Ben and Tenel hugging while Arkanes lifted up Ashoka.
"It's over!" Arkanes shouted in excitement.
Inside the palace, Anakin and Rey got up.
"Are you ok?" Anakin asked.
"Define ok?" Anakin smiled. His smile faded when he saw what was behind Snoke. The two rushed over to see the charred remains of R2 and BB-9.
"No!" Anakin said as he knelt down.
Rey almost teared up.
"Can, can you fix them?"
Anakin held the head of R2.
"No, not this time."
"R2 was with out grandfather , our father, and us. He saved the galaxy."
Anakin opened his bag and put the remains of both droids inside.
The two siblings hugged each other. When they turned, they saw more than one force ghost watching them. Luke, Jiun, Kara, every jedi who had died in the war standing around them.
Rey and Anakin still had tears in their eyes as they smiled. Luke coming closer to the two.
"My children."
"Father." Rey said.
"You did it, you did what I could not. You did what no jedi could do, you balanced the the force. Give my best to your mother."
Mara walked with the other masters across the platforms. Medics and medical droids rushing to wounded soldiers and Je'daii.
She saw a few shuttles land, Lyra coming out and into Arkorous's arms before they kissed.
Another shuttle landed, Leia stepping out with Wedge and Lando.
"Mara." Leia said as the two women saw each other.
"Leia." Mara said before hugging her sister.
"I'm so sorry." Mara said as Leia shed another tear.
"Mother." They heard, Ben and Tenel nearby.
"Ben." Leia said before hugging him.
Mara began looking for her own children, finding Tratha first.
"Clear the way!" They heard from Echo. A path being cleared for Anakin and Rey as they walked out of the palace looking very tired.
The stormtroopers, mandalorians, and Je'daii cheering and clapping as the two walked through.
Mara met them first, embracing her children.
After finally getting her to let go, Tratha took over for Anakin, wrapping her arms around her husband.
Rey found no safe haven either, Taul lifting her up in his arms.
"There's my beautiful warrior." He said before planting a kiss on her lips.
That night, the coalition forces partied and celebrated across the massive city. Fighters flying overhead letting out fireworks.
Inside the old senate building , Thrawn and Leia looked out at the vast city. Below them, the Je'daii and mandalorians partying in the plaza below.
"Beautiful isn't it." Thrawn said, Leia nodding.
"I say we let the celebration go on for another day or two, they've earned it." Thrawn said.
"Perhaps, after this war, some levity will be necessary."
"I suppose we should stop prevaricating around the bush." Thrawn said as Leia nodded.
"What happens now?"
"The first master is of the remaining Greartok. We've collected around a thousand of their warriors. Best estimates is that they are the last Greartok in existence. What to do with them?"
Leia thought about Han, Luke, Chewie, and everyone else who had died.
"We can't just kill them."
"There are many who would disagree."
"What good is another species going into history."
"My kind have been preparing for their coming millennia ago. If you think I'm going to sit here and allow them to regain their strength." Thrawn said.
"They can't, not without Snoke."
"So we wait for someone to take his place?"
"Thrawn, you're many things. But you're not cruel. We can't just wipe out their species."
"What do you suggest then?"
"We set them up on a terraformed world. Let them live as peaceful farmers, self contained. We watch over them. Not a single one leaves that planet. No weapons beyond bows and arrows."
"This won't go over well. But I agree."
Leia let out a relief breath.
"That leaves the question of our own factions."
"The galaxy can't go back to the way it was. Not after everything that has happened." Thrawn said.
"You're right, we can't. We have to start over, evolve into something new, just like the Jedi."
Epilogue
Months later, on a world in the unknown regions, a group of stormtroopers from the FN corps gunned down pirates who were raiding a settlement. The stormtroopers moving fast as they fought off the pirates and secured the town.
A little girl cowering behind a crate as a pirate was shot down in front of her.
She then hid her head as someone stepped over her.
"It's ok, you're safe now." She heard, looking up to see a man wearing metallic gold colored stormtrooper armor with a black cape around the side. He picked her up in his arms.
"My name's Finn, captain Finn, and we're here to protect you." Finn said as his stormtroopers began giving out aid to the other people.
On Coruscant, Eli walked with Ar'alani and a man wearing the Grand General uniform. The man's face had many scars as well as First Order tattoos on it. His right eye blinded as well. Four shadow guards walking with them, only now their armor was grey instead of black.
Eli held a communicator with Mitth'raw'nuruodo on the other end.
"The pirates along the Sivin leagues have been dealt with Supreme Leader." Mitth'raw'nuruodo said to Eli.
"Good admiral, keep me posted on any further conflict."
They walked through the now revamped senate building. Passing dozens of dignitaries from countless systems.
They eventually met Wedge and Wolik. Wedge now wearing a more dignified white suit , and Wolik wearing a navy officer's uniform with the rank of Fleet admiral pinned on his chest. Four senate commandos with them.
"First Senator Antilles, Fleet Admiral Wolik." Eli said.
"Supreme Leader Vanto, Grand Admiral Ar'alani, Grand General Rith. Good to see you again." Wedge said.
"I only wish it were under better circumstances." Eli said.
"Politics still not your cup of tea?" Wolik asked.
"There's a reason I love the militarization of the First Order." Eli said as Ar'alani and the others smiled.
They entered an office where Thrawn and Leia waited for them.
"Ahh there they are co consul." 3P0 said.
"Consuls, sorry we're late." Wedge said.
"You're just in time. We were about to head up." Leia said.
They got into the dome shaped platform, the republic and First Order leaders sitting in seats on the lower section while Leia and Thrawn sat in two seats on the upper section.
The platform itself rose up into the revamped senate chamber. Thousands of seats for thousands of dignitaries surrounding the platform in the center.
"Co-consuls Thrawn and Solo have arrived with the leadership of the Republic and First Order. Let this session of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances begin."
On Tython, a shuttle landed at the base of the island. A group of children, teenagers, and young adults of varying origins stepped out. Waiting for them was Malik and a few other Je'daii soldiers.
"Follow us." Malik said as they lead them up the winding staircase around the island. They passed groups of Je'daii and Mandalorians training together with Je'daii soldiers. 501st stormtroopers acting as guards for the island.
Eventually they reached the peak where Ben, Ashoka, Rey, and Anakin waited for them. Between Anakin and Rey was an astromech droid. The droid seemed to be made from the base of an old R series astromech droid with extra parts from the BB series.
"These are the high Je'daii masters." Malik said as the new arrivals sat down.
"Welcome to Tython, the birthplace of the force." Ben said.
"Here you will learn how to use the force to protect yourself and others." Ashoka said.
"You will also further our understanding of the force itself, discover new abilities and knowledge." Rey said.
"You will help maintain the cycle of life, and keep the force in balance."
Author's note
And thus it ends, I hope you guys enjoyed my trilogy and I'm glad I was able to finish it.
This will probably be my last star wars fic unless I get into star wars again, but with the way the mouse is running lucasfilms, unless there's a series change that probably won't happen
I am working on another story that's a bit more original
It's based on the Twokinds web comic by Thomas Fischbach
It's more or less a reimagining of it if you are familiar with the webcomic , having most of the main characters there with some new ones
For those of you unfamiliar, this will be a fantasy story based in a world of humans and anthropomorphic creatures with magic, roman esk culture, and elements of industrial age tech powered by magic, so if that interests you I'll probably post the first chapter in the next week or two
So until next story,
Please review, comment, suggest, or ask(VIA PM)