They woke later to the sound of R2's beeps. Rey blearily ran her hands over her face and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "What R2? We're here?"
The droid trilled happily and they suddenly dropped out of hyperspace. Luckily Rey was still strapped into her chair, if she hadn't been she would definitely be better acquainted with the transparisteel window before her.
A dark planet appeared before them, its atmosphere a swirl of storms.
"Where are we?" Ben breathed next to her.
"R2, do you know where we are?" Rey asked, glancing at the droid over her shoulder.
R2 beeped in the negative.
"No records for this planet exist? Well I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering we are in the Unknown Regions."
Rey flicked on the scanners, "The atmosphere down there is reading as breathable. No signs of technology or intelligent life from what I can see…"
She took control of the ship from R2 and guided them down towards the surface and the coordinates of their final destination. It was a bumpy ride as the storm whipped at the sides of the ship ferociously; thunder, lightning, and driving rain were not going to be enough to keep her from her goal.
Once they broke through the clouds the shaking subsided and Rey could concentrate on finding an appropriate landing site. Mountains rose all around them, free of vegetation, stark pillars of granite reaching from the ground all the way up to the sky in places. When they reached the coordinates she had to circle a few times to find a spot flat enough to land. On the third time round she spotted a very obvious protuberance that looked as if it had been built for the very reason, flat and perfectly sized for a small craft.
They landed smoothly and Rey powered down the engines, wanting to conserve every bit of fuel she could.
"R2, keep an eye here for me? Send Poe daily updates. If I'm gone for more than four days get help. I'll bring a comm but with all the electric interference on this planet I doubt it will work very well."
The droid booped in the affirmative and Rey gave him a pat before moving to the back of the ship. She threw on her pack and a hooded poncho before turning to Ben, "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," He said, moving out of her way even though he didn't have to.
Rey opened the hatch and they stooped to walk off the ship. It was very dark, the world around them only occasionally cast into light by the odd crackle of lightning across the sky. She ignited her saber with a hiss, holding it up as a light source as she stepped forward towards what looked like a path hewn through the granite pillar before them.
"This seems far too convenient." she said, a shiver running up her spine. Something about this planet felt… Wrong.
"A wound in the force," Ben said, sensing her discomfort, "Something very bad happened here a long long time ago."
"So a Vergence?" Rey said referring to a disturbance in the force Luke had written about.
"Yes, a concentration of force, they can be caused by all sorts of things. This one feels like old pain, anger, sadness. Like I said, something bad happened here…" Ben walked ahead, examining the walls that lined the path. They looked carved out by hand, the tool marks could still be seen upon the stone. The sheer amount of work that had gone into creating such a small path was staggering. Ahead he could see the yawning mouth of a cave, unadorned but definitely what this path was meant to lead to. He glanced back at Rey, "You said there was no intelligent life here?"
She shrugged, "Doesn't mean there never was, just that there isn't now." Rey stepped past him as they approached the cave, lifting her saber to get a better look at it. The opening was a perfectly carved semicircle, she couldn't see more than a few feet beyond but the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, "This is definitely the place." she said, slowly moving towards it.
Ben moved ahead of her again, hoping that if someone or something had laid any traps he would be the one to find them first. As soon as they both stepped into the protection of the cave it was as if the storm behind them disappeared, the sound of it cut off completely. When he and Rey turned to look they could still see it but now all they could hear was the sound of Rey's breathing and her boots upon the stone.
"That's… Strange," she said, wincing as her voice echoed back far louder than she had intended it to be.
"Drama," Ben said wiggling his fingers at her in a flourish, "Always drama."
Rey smiled then, he had a way of lightening her mood when she was upset or worried. She lifted her saber once more and continued deeper into the cave. About 100 feet in the cave came to an abrupt end, a flat solid wall stood before them with intricately carved figures all over it. This was the first adornment they had encountered and it was beautiful. Rey marveled at the details.
Before them a tableau played out on stone, on one side a feminine being of light, at her feet plants and creatures frolicked happily, their faces all turned up towards the figure. On the other side a masculine being of darkness stood, a cloak obscuring his features. Around him were predators and creatures of bone, all bowing down before him. And in the middle stood the Father.
"That Kriffing Sleemo." Rey cursed, "This is his place! He knew exactly where he was sending us."
Ben ran a ghostly hand over the carved stone, "Looks like…" He closed his eyes and felt for the door like they had before, something was there but it didn't want to open. He huffed in frustration and turned to Rey.
"Isn't it like the other one, we need two, light and dark?" she asked, placing her hand next to his at the feet of the Father.
"Technically there is only one of us here, right?" he blew out a breath and then shrugged, "I guess we could give it a spin, see if we can open it like the other one, just you and me."
Rey closed her eyes and reached for the force, it was darkness that answered. Her hand went cold but she did not withdraw. She felt surprise from Ben when the darkness went for her and not him; then she felt him reach for the force and the light rushed to answer him.
Together they pushed and the figures on the stone wall began to move. Rey pulled her hand back with a hiss, shaking out her now numb hand as she watched the Father step aside. The creatures from the feet of the light and dark figures gathered and formed a circle that undulated unnaturally against the stone. From the middle of the undulating circle Rey could sense… Something. A pull to… somewhere else.. She glanced at Ben, uncertain.
He watched in amazement as the stone came to life, moving, shifting, like magic. The creatures formed what looked like a portal and he let out a shaky breath, "The Vergence Scatter…"
Rey looked from Ben's awed expression and back to the circle before her, "What is it?"
"A door." He swallowed and moved forward to touch it, his hand passing through as it did everything else, "You need to go through it."
She crept closer to it, raising a trembling hand towards this door; Rey cringed and closed her eyes as she moved to press her fingers against the stone, but she felt nothing. When she opened her eyes her arm had disappeared right into it, she looked back to Ben, confused.
"Like I said, a door." He rejoined her then, settling himself into his usual spot, 'I'll be right here with you. Just close your eyes and take a step.'
Rey trembled, terrified that this portal led to a nightmare, a test of some kind like at the other temple. She took a bracing breath and closed her eyes once more, hesitating for a moment before she took a bold step forward into the unknown.
It was like being force pulled, something grabbed her and just yanked. Rey was flung forwards and when she opened her eyes she found herself sprawled out on a clear floor of unknown make. Somehow the sky was above and below her, stars twinkling, galaxies spinning. She struggled to her feet spinning in a circle as she took it all in. She stood upon a path that led to what looked like another portal as well as many other paths also terminating in portals. The force around her was thick here and faintly she heard voices.
"The world between worlds." Ben whispered next to her, "This place isn't supposed to exist…"
Rey looked to him, "The what between the what now?"
"The Vergence Scatter, a place where all points in time and space are connected. It is where the living force is supposed to connect with the cosmic force. Where everything exists at the same time." His voice trembled with the gravity of his realisation, "I thought it was a myth, I thought he was speaking metaphorically, you know…. Drama… But this… This is. Rey, this is unlimited power."
Rey shivered at the thought, unlimited power was terrifying. She shook her head and moved to stand before him, "The Father said we were to come here to find something we were looking for and nothing else."
"Rey, we could change the very course of time from here. Undo countless evils…" Ben moved to walk ahead along the path.
She followed him for a time as they passed portal after portal, each one showed a moment in time, most monumental, great battles of the past and some maybe of the future. After a little while she began to feel a pull in one particular direction, "I think we're supposed to go this way…" she told Ben, waving for him to follow.
The voices grew more distinct the closer she got to one portal in particular, she began to recognise them, the Jedi who'd helped her defeat Palpatine. At first they were all together and she couldn't make out what they were saying but slowly they began to speak separately, distinctly, all encouraging her forward towards the portal at the end of this path.
Ben trailed behind her, he seemed unnerved by the voices, but she found them pleasant, comforting. Soon she was close enough to see what the portal had to show her and it stopped her in her tracks, breath catching in her throat.
It was her and Ben in the moments before he died. She watched as he held her lifeless body, searching the room for help, for the Jedi who'd just offered her their aid. They did not answer his call however and she could see the despair as he clutched her body to his chest.
Ben stopped behind her, gasping at the scene. The memory was one of the most painful he had, those few moments of absolute loneliness, knowing no one was going to help. Though, instead of being angry, instead of lashing out, he had chosen to make the ultimate sacrifice for the woman he loved more deeply than he even loved himself. She had to live and he had made peace with his decision almost immediately. He watched as he placed his hand on her stomach and willed his very essence into her, to bring her back, to give her life again.
Rey watched as Ben brought color back to her cheeks, life back into her eyes, watched herself resurrected by his selfless act of love. Watched the relief wash over his face as she sat up in his arms. Watched as she kissed him, remembering the feel of his lips upon hers vividly.
Tears streamed down her cheeks at the sight, she'd known he had done this but to watch it was something else entirely. She felt his joy and then she realised what was coming and no… No! She couldn't let that happen again. Not again!
Panic crawled up her throat and she lurched forward, reaching into the portal to grab Ben and she pulled. She pulled and she felt that familiar snap in the force, a flash of bright light and then, nothingness.