Rey closed her eyes and took a steady breath as she knelt down in front of Ben Solo, where he had retaken his seat in the chair in the center of his hospital room.
He shifted uncomfortably, playing with the IV tube in his arm as he tried to avoid her gaze.
"Ben…" Rey whispered, trying to keep her voice even as she opened her eyes and looked up to him, "Tell me what happened to my father? Where is he?"
Ben's eyes fluttered and he looked over to his mother, where she sat on the bed with her face in her hands and Major Ematt at her side.
"Don't look at them!" Rey quickly snapped, "Look at me! What did you do to him?!"
Ben's eyes narrowed as he stiffly turned his gaze toward her, rolling his shoulders like a disturbed reptile as their eyes met seemingly in a challenge.
A challenge that Rey accepted.
Suddenly, Ben's chair began to shake and Poe immediately stepped forward, realizing it was Rey that was making it do so.
But, Ematt quickly stood from his seat at Leia side and grabbed Poe's shoulder.
"No," he said, "Don't."
Then, as soon as it had begun shaking, the chair stopped, and Ben narrowed his eyes, then lifted his chin and Rey immediately started sliding swiftly back on her knees, seemingly pushed by an unseen force.
Grimacing, Rey slammed her right hand on the floor hard, creating a long dent in the marble floor with inhuman strength that slowed her motion before she hit the end of the hospital bed.
"Ben!" Leia cried in shock, immediately standing, "Rey!"
But, they ignored her and Major Ematt quickly grabbed the General to hold her back out of harm's way, too.
Rey quickly came to her feet and thrust her arm out toward Ben, toppling his chair and throwing him against the far wall.
"Tell me what you did to him!" she cried, the anger and fear swelling inside of her.
She could not control it now.
Ben let out a grunt as he hit the wall with enough force to leave a crater in the plaster and fell to the floor, his IV stand, still attached to him, landing on top of him.
"Nothing!" he shot back, ripping the IV out of his arm as he stood, his eyes now flashing a Sith yellow that matched his cousin's, and picking up the IV stand before throwing it with immense force at Rey.
Ben watched the stand fly half way across the room before Rey raised a hand and caught it in mid-air with the Force, then, bending it in half, tore it apart in her hands effortlessly.
The smaller pieces fell to the marble floor with hard clatter—except the center rod.
Narrowing her eyes and giving a flick of her wrist, Rey sent the rod flying back toward Ben, spearing him in the left shoulder and pinning him to the wall as he cried out in pain and Leia screamed in shock.
Rey swiftly moved forward, tossing the toppled chair out of her way and out through the nearby observation window in the room, shattering it.
Poe pulled himself out of Major Ematt's grip and raced forward, but Rey sensed his presence and turned on him, throwing out her hand and using the Force to freeze his motions.
He groaned and grimaced, struggling in the middle of room, now a prisoner in his own body.
Giving him a quick glance over, Rey turned her attention back toward Ben and moved forward once more.
When she finally stood face to face with him, Rey took hold of the end of the spear stuck in her cousin's shoulder.
"Well!" a familiar voice boomed, "Is this a hospital or a donnybrook?!"
Ben and Rey's yellow eyes immediately turned and focused out toward the open hospital room door, where three Resistance guards and Finn now stood.
But, Finn wasn't the source of the voice.
Their eyes quickly traveled down to the small orange skinned figure with baggy cargo pants and big goggles walking through the threshold.
Suddenly, they turned back to face one another, stunned and confused as if waking from a dream, watching as eachother's eyes turned from a bright Sith yellow back to their normal shades of brown.
Rey's eyes narrowed, then her face crumbled when she realized what she had done to Ben and stumbled back, looking around and taking in the destruction their fight had caused, her lip trembling.
Behind her, Poe suddenly let out a gasp as he was suddenly released from Rey's hold and able to move his limbs again.
Realizing what had transpired between them, too, Ben tried to free himself, but grimaced in pain, still trapped against the wall.
"Oh, my Gods…" Rey whispered in disbelief, studying Ben's injury before she took stepped forward and took hold of the spear and with a pull, released him from the wall, "What have I done...I'm sorry, Ben..."
"No..." Ben said, giving a weary smile, "I am. I let it happen. I pushed you. I'm sorry."
Nearby, Maz Kanata now looked around the room, examining it closely as she adjusted the rims of her goggles.
"There is pain… fear…anger…and aggression in this room…" Maz said, her eyes falling one by one each of the figures surrounding her, "I feel it...and it is palpable. If I can feel it, so can others. This is not the Jedi way…this is not the Skywalker way. And it is definitely not the way to save, Luke."
Leia opened her mouth to speak, but Maz held up a hand to silence her as she crossed the room, "Be silent. I know and see all."
Then, Maz came toward the center of the room, where Rey was now kneeling next to Ben, where he had crumbled to the floor, and her pressing her hand to his shoulder wound.
Maz narrowed her eyes, studying them closely, then addressed Rey with soft eyes.
"Dear girl…From the moment we met, I knew who you were. I once knew your parents… and I saw them in your eyes. You are meant for great things, but you must learn to control this new power that lives inside you…" Maz said, shaking her head then giving a sideways glance toward Ben, "And not let your emotions feed it or others you love."
Rey looked down in shame as Maz now turned her entire focus on Ben and adjusted her glasses on him, looking into his eyes as he breathed heavily, trying to keep himself from focusing on the searing pain in his shoulder, "The boy is not to blame. Luke's fate is of his own making. The boy acted against his blood, but not out of darkness. The path of the Sith, he walked, but no longer. His compassion still lives inside him. He will help."
Maz then turned toward Rey again and lowered her hands from her glasses, "As will I. Finn told me about what happened to Luke."
Rey opened her eyes and looked up to Maz once more as small smile crossed the little woman's face, as she nodded toward Ben, "Now…Get Darth Handsome to his feet. You'll need him for what comes next."
# # # # # # #
Luke gasped as he closed his eyes and leaned against a rock face at the edge of the dark and desolate forest in his mind.
He was starting to feel cold and weak as he struggled to keep his eyes open. His left hand was still pressed hard to his wounded left side in an unsuccessful attempt to keep himself from bleeding to death, as his right hand clutched his light saber in anticipation of what was to come.
He was growing tired of waiting.
Suddenly, the sound of a tree branch cracking under foot sounded nearby, followed by that of a light saber igniting.
Luke's eyes snapped open and he pushed himself off of the rock face and came unsteadily to his feet, igniting his own light saber and sending a bright green glow out into the night as he looked around.
Then, there was another noise, the fluttering of wings.
Luke turned quickly on his heel and watched through the darkness as a small flock of black birds suddenly flew in the from the east and perched themselves on the branches of a great white oak nearby, curiously looking down at Luke with beady eyes.
He stared at the birds and they stared at him.
Then, suddenly, a few of them opened their beaks.
But, no song or chirp came out.
Instead, there was a collective voice...a scream, actually.
The scream of a child…
A little girl.
His little girl.
Rey.
"No wait! Come back!" her voice cried from the mouths of the birds, echoing over and over through the snow covered forest and bringing back the memory of the day he left her on Jakku.
Luke's eyes widened as he turned in a tight circle, reeling in shock as the birds started to flock up toward the sky and swarm around him in a dark haze.
"Don't leave me! Come back!" Rey's voice called again as the birds flew above him, beating their wings faster, "Come back! Daddy! Come back!"
Suddenly, the sounds of other screams filled the forest—children's screams rising up in unison.
And from all around, more varieties of birds came, their voices piercing and familiar.
They were the same screams Luke had heard for years in his nightmares.
They were the cries of his students at the Jedi Praxeum—the ones he had heard and felt through the Force the night Kylo Ren slaughtered them all.
In the middle of the screams, one lone voice cried out again, "Daddy! Daddy! Help me!"
"No…" Luke whispered, holstering his light saber and bringing his hands to the side of his head and covering his ears as he fell to his knees on the wet grass, trying to shield himself from the flocking birds, "It's not real, Luke…it's not real..."
"Daddy! Please! Daddy!" Rey's young voice from the past continued to cry out to him as the screams of her classmates grew louder in the background above him, "Daddy!"
"It's not real…It's not real…" Luke continued to repeat to himself, closing his eyes tightly and trying to keep focus, but quickly losing his resolve at the sound of his daughter's voice crying out for him, though muffled by his hands.
"Daddy! Come back! Daddy!" the birds cried
"It's in your head…" Luke whimpered, his voice cracking and hyperventilating as the painful memories of that night thirteen years ago suddenly flooded his mind… "It's all in your head. It's not real…It's not her…"
# # # # # # #
"Clean wound," the doctor said, looking to Leia, who sighed in relief, "It missed any major arteries. There is damage, but the joint is intact. There is just some bruising on the tendons and ligaments. It will bleed and he won't be able to use his left arm at full strength for some time, but he'll be fine."
He finished wrapping the dressing around Ben's shoulder as the young man winced, then turned to the others—Rey, Poe, Finn, Major Ematt and Maz Kanata— all crowded into General Organa's living quarters.
The doctor gave a curious look to them and was going to say something before Leia said, "Thank you, doctor."
The man closed his mouth and gave a courteous nod to the General before he grabbed his clipboard, his supply bag, and left the room.
When the door was securely shut behind him, Maz didn't waste any time.
"Daemons…they are called," Maz said, standing in the center of room and facing the others with solemn eyes, "That is what Luke now faces in his coma. Tests of his character, his strength, his will and the light and dark within him—"
"And just how was this 'coma' caused in the first place?" Poe asked, narrowing his eyes
Maz opened her mouth to answer, but Ben spoke first.
"By a Rennian blade," Ben said, looking around at the others, then to Maz, "The red cross blades forged by the Knights of Ren. I didn't make my blade, as some believe. I was given it. If one doesn't die by it, it places the victim in a deep coma—a prison, so to speak, inside their own mind—with no way of being freed."
"You were stabbed by the Knights of Ren on D'Qar…" Rey whispered in realization, sharing a look with Ben, who nodded, "That's how you ended up in a coma..."
"The same thing happened to Luke," Ben said, casting his eyes down, "He came to me in my coma and tried to step in and save me from my daemons. But, he was caught in the crossfire."
"Well, Finn was injured by Kylo Ren's blade in the fight in the forest on Starkiller Base…" Poe added, now looking toward Finn, suddenly realizing something
"But, I don't remember anything," Finn interjected quickly, defensively, seemingly unwilling to share his thoughts, "Well—some things—nightmarish things—but I wasn't there for long—"
"Because, Rey's powers awakened you…" Poe added, finishing his thought and turning toward Rey,
Suddenly, everyone in the room straightened at Poe's meaning, but Maz interjected.
"The girl is powerful enough to awaken Luke, but like all things in this world. There must always be a balance—always! Ben was awoken because Luke stayed behind to take his place..." Maz said, then paused for a moment and turned to Finn, "Finn was awakened because of Rey's powers, it's true—but, again…balance. Rey's power is rooted in both light and dark. Therefore, when it is brought forth, it brings negative and positive responses from the universe."
"She brings down two hundred Stormtroopers," Major Ematt said suddenly, in realization, "But, simultaneously heals eighty Resistance soldiers…including Finn."
Maz nodded, "Balance. It is the way of the Force."
"So before we can do anything to help Luke, we need to ensure that there will be a balance to anything we do?" Poe asked, raising an eyebrow, "Sounds complicated and Luke is injured and trapped in his own personal nightmare land. We don't have much time. So hurry up and tell us what we need to do."
"Ah!" Maz cried then smirked, pointing toward Poe, "I like this boy! It's like having Han Solo back in the flesh!"
Poe blushed and a small smile crossed everyone's face except Ben Solo's.
Maz then turned toward Leia, "I will need all the information the Resistance has on the Holy Children of Asrat."
Leia's eyes widened as she stood.
"The Holy Children of Asrat? What could they possibly have to do with this? Besides, no one has seen them in over thirty years—not since the Empire sent assassins to eliminate them."
"Who are the Holy Children of Asrat?" Poe retorted, looking between Leia and Maz, "And what do you mean by 'holy'?" then looked over to Rey and whispered, "Can children be 'holy'?"
"They were orphans," Ben interjected, "They lived in a temple on Asrat during the time of the Empire and were worshiped by the people of the outer rim for the power they had acquired from the Gods—"
"Supposedly acquired," Leia pointed out, "It's just a legend. Besides they disappeared after the Galactic Wars and haven't been seen since."
She then, turned back to Maz, "How exactly is this supposed to help Luke?"
"They are not a legend…" Maz answered sternly, then turned her goggles on Ben, "Tell them."
"The Knights of Ren…" Ben said, slowly raising his eyes, "They're the Holy Children of Asrat…or they were. They were taken in by the First Order after escaping the Empire. For the last twenty years, Snoke has poisoned their minds and taken their powers for his own—forcing them to do his bidding."
"So…not a legend," Maz said, satisfied, looking around at the shocked faces staring back at her, "And they made the blade that stabbed Luke! Therefore, we need to pull all the records we can find about the Holy Children of Asrat. We need to know more about their powers and how to create a balance that will allow us to save Luke with the least amount of consequences."
Leia opened her mouth to say something, but just then the room shook with an unbelievable force and nearby sirens immediately started blaring.
Poe instantly ran to Rey and covered her with his body to shield her from the debris that tumbled from the ceiling
When the room finally stopped shaking, Poe pulled back and met her gaze, "Are you alright?"
Rey could only nod, still in shock as she looked around and took in the sight of the partially collapsed room now covered in rubble and dust.
Finn and Major Ematt were helping General Organa up from where she had taken cover behind the bed with Ben.
Maz dusted herself off and shoved a piece of plaster off of her as she waved off Poe's attempts to help her up from where she had been knocked down.
Suddenly, the door to Leia's quarters opened and two Resistance soldiers appeared, "General! We're under attack. The First Order is here!"
"Give the order for troop formation," Leia said, springing in to action and looking to Major Ematt, who gave her a knowing look and a nod, then moved toward the door, issuing more orders to the two men as they exited.
"Poe!" Leia turned to Commander Dameron, "Authorization granted to scramble the fleet—what's left of it, anyway. We need protection in the sky for as long as you can give us, son."
"Yes, Ma'am," Poe said, then turned to Rey and, after taking a moment to give a small smile and bringing his hand to gently stroke her cheek, took off through the door.
"You two," Leia said, turning to Rey and Ben, in haste, "I'm headed to central command. I want you two to leave here and find Lord Estos and make sure that he gets to the bunker with the other staff and civilians."
Ben nodded and locked eyes with his mother for a long moment—a mental exchange seemingly happening between the two of them.
Finally, Leia gave a small smile before she took off through the door, giving a quick glance toward Maz
"Ok…I have a feeling that that wasn't really about Lord Estos…" Rey scoffed, shooting a confused look toward Ben, then to Maz.
"Oh, it was," Ben said as he rounded the end of the bed and Rey immediately moved forward and offered him her shoulder to rest on, "But, Lord Estos is in the medical bay on the lower level...with your father."
A mischievous smile suddenly broke across Rey's face as their eyes met and Ben winked at her.
Rey suddenly, looked to Maz, concerned, "But what about the balance? What about the information you said we should acquire about the Knights of Ren—their powers—"
"It seems we won't have time for such finesse!" Maz cried, just as another bomb fell and they grabbed hold of nearby furniture to steady themselves.
When the dust cleared and she could see Maz again, the little woman stepped forward toward Rey with serious eyes and said, "Go to your father. Use the force to enter his mind and help him face his daemons. It will take both of you. Just remember that there must always be a balance... Now, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?! Go!"