Chapter 10

The next few weeks blurred together for Ben. He'd wanted to leave Coruscant as soon as possible, to get away from the Republic, clear his head, and find somewhere to give Rey a funeral. But he, along with everyone who had participated in the Siege of Coruscant, were confined on the planet by the New Republic, much to Ben's annoyance. He'd never really liked politics or the New Republic, even before he'd gone to Plagueis. And while he was no longer hell bent on eradicating them, he'd probably never fully like the New Republic. And being stuck here while they held Senate meeting after Senate meeting to discuss millions of seemingly pointless subjects certainly didn't help his approval of them. Most of what they were discussing was what to do now, and how to avoid making the same mistake they'd made with the First Order again. They also had to deal with repairing the damage both on Coruscant and across the galaxy.

But the main things that concerned Ben were the trials.

After the Senate had gotten most of the political discussions out of the way, they'd turned to the next most important matter: the thousands of stormtroopers that had helped the Resistance win against their former masters, and their one remaining leader: him. There was no real way to try the stormtroopers, especially all at once; so the Senate had to discuss among themselves what to do, with input from Finn, the man who had cried over Rey's body (which Ben now remembered was the ex-stormtrooper he'd almost killed on Starkiller Base). In the end, the consensus reached with the stormtroopers was to pardon them; considering they were essentially brainwashed from birth, it was argued, they should not be held accountable for the crimes they were told to commit, as they had very little choice in the matter. After that, they discussed what to do with them, and decided to add them to the Republic's own army, considering they were probably unfit for civilian life, and the Republic didn't have the resources to rehabilitate them. The troopers themselves were understandably uncertain, but assurances that the Republic army was far less rigid and punishing to their soldiers helped to ease them.

Then it was Ben's turn. His trial was more of an actual trial - he was brought to a large courthouse near the Senate Building and set before a group of judges to be questioned and sentenced. He had agreed to come weaponless to the trial, leaving his lightsabers with Chewbacca, who was living in the temporarily grounded Millenium Falcon. The judges had also attempted to place Ben in handcuffs to restrict his use of the Force when he arrived at the trial, but thanks to Lando, who used both his skills at smooth talking and his status as a war hero to negotiate with them, he was allowed to keep his hands free, with the promise that he would be shot to death by the courthouse guards if he tried anything. Ben managed to keep himself from pointing out the guards wouldn't have time to fire if he didn't want them to; he doubted that would help his situation. It also didn't help that he was still wearing his Sith robes - he had removed his cloak and gloves, but as he didn't really have any other clothes he was still wearing the black tunic and pants.

The trial felt more like an interrogation than a court proceeding; most of it was taken up by him, and the few people who had chosen to defend him, being asked questions by the judges. He only had two defenders: Lando and, surprisingly, Finn, who said he was doing it so that Rey's death wouldn't be meaningless. He'd told them both, along with Chewbacca and the girl, what had happened in the Jedi Temple, and thankfully they'd all believed him. Whether the New Republic would, however, remained to be seen.

The court was like a smaller version of the Senate meeting chamber, with one central podium for the judges and floating platforms for the defendants, jury and the rest. There were no prosecutors here; the judges would essentially be performing that role as well. The first thing he was asked, of course, was what had happened in the Temple. He told them the same thing he'd told Lando and Finn: he had brought Rey there at her suggestion to meet with Plagueis, and before they arrived at the throne room Rey convinced him to rebel against Plagueis. He told them everything he could, hoping the details would help convince them it wasn't a lie, but he could tell he lost them when he started talking about balance; while most people knew about the Force in some capacity or the other, very few really understood it or how it really worked. They didn't understand balance or the will of the Force; all they knew was that a war criminal was standing before them trying to convince them he'd helped defeat his master at the last minute, and therefore shouldn't be punished for his crimes.

The trial, of course, didn't go particularly well, but at the last minute, just as it seemed Ben was about to be sentenced to death for his crimes, he was saved by an unlikely pair: C-3PO and R2-D2. They burst into the courtroom as the jury discussed the case among themselves. C-3PO apologized profusely for interrupting, as he usually did, and then explained, to the shock of everyone, why they came; R2 had discovered a recording on Rey's commlink, showing Ben killing Plagueis. Apparently, when Rey had been pushed back after plagueis stabbed her, the commlink had hit the wall and started recording, and Artoo had managed to extract the recording. The astromech proceeded to project it in front of the judges, and Ben watched himself kill the last Sith Lord all over again, this time from an outside perspective. In the end, the court reached their decision: Ben was reluctantly granted a pardon for his crimes. Ben was decidedly surprised, and he reflected on the fact that, once again, Rey had saved him. The irony did not escape him.

As he left the court, in a decidedly better mood than when he had arrived, and headed towards the taxi that would take him back to the apartment he'd been given for his stay on Coruscant, he heard C-3PO running up behind him. "Master Ben!" he called out. Ben stopped and turned to watch the protocol droid approach, gesturing to Lando and Finn to keep walking. C-3PO stopped a couple feet away from him, R2 at his side, and it occurred to Ben that he hadn't really seen or spoken to them in many years, not since before he destroyed the new Jedi Order. Clearly Threepio was thinking of that, too, because they both stood there awkwardly for a few moments, not really sure what to say to each other. Finally, Threepio broke the silence. "Mistress Leia… your mother wanted you to know that… she loved you very much." Ben stood there, silent, as he let the words sink in. Eventually, he responded with the only words he could think of.

"I know."

/

Ben hadn't planned to ever come back to Jakku, but it was the only place he could think of where it would make sense to put Rey to rest. So a little over a week after Ben's trial, here he stood, gazing at a sandstone hut he'd never seen before. But he knew from what he'd seen in Rey's mind, back when they shared a bond, that it was the hut she'd lived in with her Jedi master as a child, before she was left behind. It felt a bit strange to be there, for a reason he couldn't quite place, but it seemed like a fitting place to put Rey to rest. He hadn't come alone; Lando, Finn, Chewbacca, the girl who came to the Temple, named Rose, the Resistance pilot, Poe, BB-8, R2-D2, C-3PO, and, strangely enough, Boba Fett, were all here with him, their various ships sitting on the nearby sand in a sort of semicircle. "I've fought by - and against - many a Jedi," Fett explained. "The least I can do is be there to witness the end of their Order."

They weren't going to bury her; it was Jedi tradition to burn their fallen. And while Ben himself was no longer a Jedi, he wanted to honor her, and the entire Jedi Order, by giving her a Jedi funeral. The last Jedi funeral that would ever be performed. Obviously, there was no wood on Jakku they could use to make the funeral pyre; they'd had to bring their own. They began to set it up, and by the time it was ready the sun was beginning to set. Then it was time to bring Rey's body over. Chewbacca fetched her from the Falcon, her body wrapped in a white linen sheet. Carefully, he carried her over, and placed her gently on top of the wood pile. He stepped back with a mournful whine as Ben walked up to the pile. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand, and slowly pulled the sheet back to reveal Rey's face. She looked peaceful, her eyes closed and an expression sort of like contentment on her face. He almost expected to see her chest moving up and down in the gentle rhythm of breathing, showing she was merely sleeping.

Ben ignored the feeling of a tear rolling down his cheek, and almost painfully tore his gaze away from Rey's face. He turned to look at everyone else; they were all standing a few feet away, hands clasped in front of them respectfully and various levels of sorrow etched into their features (the droids, though they had no real faces, somehow managed to convey the same feelings, and Fett, though he wasn't sad, was respectfully silent beneath his helmet). Wordlessly, he turned back to the pyre and pulled a single log from it. He ignited the Skywalker lightsaber and set it ablaze, then pressed it against the rest of the pyre. With the gentle crackling noise of flames, the fire spread, and Ben stepped back to join the others, replacing the lightsaber onto his belt again. Together they stood, watching the flames burn the pyre and Rey's body to shreds, as the Jakku sun set on them and the Jedi Order.

/

Fett was the first to leave, about a half an hour later. He had a people to lead, he said, and things to do. "But you can be sure you'll be seeing me again, Solo," he said to Ben. Ben nodded in response. He was likely correct - while Fett wasn't Force sensitive by any means, the Force nevertheless seemed to favor him. Whatever came next for Ben, Fett would likely be involved, even if only in a small capacity. With the jangle of spurs he was gone, and a few moments later the Slave I lifted off the desert sand and blasted off into the darkening sky.

Poe left next, stating the New Republic had a lot of work for him. Apparently, he was a soldier for them now, and his rank carried over. He hugged Finn and Chewie goodbye and shook hands with Rose and Lando. When he turned to Ben, he could see the distrust in the pilot's eyes. Ben didn't blame him for not trusting him; in fact he'd have doubted the man's sanity if he'd warmed up to him after only a few weeks of being on the same side. Poe didn't shake his hand, but he nodded respectfully. Then he turned and left, BB-8 following behind him after a whistle of farewell to everyone. He'd see them again, too, Ben thought as he watched the orange X-wing soar into the air and disappear in the distance. The droid had been close to Rey, so at the very least he probably would be less distrustful of Ben.

Everyone else except for him had come on the Falcon. He had, in fact, come in his own ship - his old Upsilon-class command shuttle, one of the few First Order ships to survive the Siege of Coruscant. He'd been allowed to keep it, though he no longer had a pilot, and while the blasters were kept any ordnance heavier than that was removed. Thankfully he could fly the ship himself. He realized, with a small amount of guilt, that he'd never even known the pilot's name, or even if he had had more than one pilot. Another mistake in a long list of mistakes he'd made. He also realized he'd never named the shuttle. Since it was his now, and his alone, that was probably something he should deal with at some point soon, but at the moment ship names weren't particularly important to him.

It was entirely dark by the time the Falcon crew began to head back to the ship. C-3PO and R2-D2 went first, with Threepio apologizing quietly but complaining about sand in his joints. He watched them go fondly; C-3PO was all he had left of his mother, and Artoo was a link between the entire Skywalker family. They were some of the only family he had left. Finn and Rose followed shortly after. Rose didn't look at him as she left, but Finn did, giving him a nod similar to Poe's, which Ben returned. Chewie then went a few minutes later, but not before giving Ben a hug seemingly out of nowhere, which was no small surprise to Ben. He returned it awkwardly as Lando laughed behind them, and then Chewie let go and left with a growl of farewell, leaving Ben and Lando alone.

An awkward silence hung between them, broken only by the crackling of the flames as they watched the pyre burn. Lando was the one to break it. "I'm sorry I didn't get to meet her," he said softly, referring to the woman whose body was now blackened ash, slowly drifting into the air. "Seems like she was a good kid." Ben nodded his agreement silently. He turned to look at Lando; he hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to the man since they stood together at the steps of the Temple, and he had no idea what to say. "I'm…" he began, wanting to apologize. For what, he didn't know exactly - for running away? For killing his friend? For all the atrocities he'd committed? But Lando cut him off with a shake of his head. "Don't say it," he said gently. "You don't have to." Ben looked at him gratefully, hoping his expression could get across what words could not, and Lando smiled in return. They turned back to the pyre for a bit longer.

"Where you heading next, kid?" Lando asked after a bit. "What's your plan from here?" Ben looked into the fire as he thought about the question. It was a good question, one he hadn't really thought about yet. In truth, he had no idea what he would do now. Nearly his entire life, his actions had been determined by someone else. Now, to be free of that, to be able to make his own decisions, was almost overwhelming. "What's your plan?" Ben replied, avoiding having to answer the question. Lando noticed, but chose not to press for an answer, much to Ben's relief. "Well, first I was gonna drop Finn and Rose off wherever it is they wanna go," Lando said, "and then… I was thinking, with the Falcon back in my hands, maybe me and Chewie could start a shipping business or something. Try and do something without having to worry about getting shot at for once." Lando laughed, and Ben allowed himself a small grin.

Lando stopped laughing after a bit and looked over at Ben. "My offer still stands, you know. By all rights, Falcon should be yours." Lando had asked him this before, one of the few times they'd had a chance for a quick talk. Ben shook his head, like he had last time. "It's yours," Ben said. "More than it's mine. And it…" and it had too many painful memories, he wanted to say. Of Rey. Of his mother and father. But he didn't finish the sentence, letting it hang there in the air. Lando nodded, understanding in his eyes. He walked over to Ben and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Listen, kid. You ever need anything, you call me up, you hear? Me and Chewie will be there to help you out faster than lightspeed." Ben met Lando's eyes and nodded. With a quick smile, Lando removed his hand. "May the Force be with you," he said, and then he walked off towards the Falcon. "May the Force be with you," Ben echoed quietly as he watched the man leave. A couple minutes later, the Falcon lifted into the air and soared up into the sky, and Ben, finally, was alone, with his thoughts and the fire.

He didn't know how long he stood there, just watching the fire burn, letting the warmth wash over him, but it had to have been at least an hour since the Falcon left when Ben heard a voice speak out of the darkness. "Now this," said the voice, "was something I never thought I'd get to see again." The voice was male, deep and calm but wizened with age. Ben turned to the direction the voice came from to see an old man walk into the firelight. He was human, with light, wrinkled skin, green eyes, and silvery hair swept back from his forehead. He wore a brown leather sleeveless vest over a dark shirt, and dark pants. Over all this he wore a light tan cloak. On his back was a large lump, but since the man was facing the fire he couldn't tell if it was some sort of equipment pack or a physical deformity. He walked with a simple wooden cane, but he did not limp. He stopped walking a few feet away from Ben and turned to look at the fire. Ben looked at him in confusion. "Who are you?" he asked. The man laughed gently. "Straight to the point, aren't you?" he asked, shaking his head.

He was quiet for a moment longer, the fire reflected in his eyes. "It's been a long time since I've been on Jakku," he said finally. "Last time I was here, Rey was only a small child." Ben turned to the man, his eyes wide in realization. "You're her Jedi master," he said. It was more of a statement than a question. The man nodded. "Don't worry," he said as Ben began to speak again, "I won't affect the Balance you've achieved. My time is coming soon. Tonight, in fact." He turned back to the fire. "I only wanted to bid farewell to my student before I joined her." Ben turned back to the fire too, solemnly. "What's your name?" Ben tried after a moment. The man turned to look at him, but before he could say anything, the lump on his back moved. "Be-doop?" it said, and Ben realized, with mild surprise, that it was not a hunch or a backpack, but a droid. It looked sort of like a pair of white macrobinoculars with legs and antennae, and was somehow clinging to the man's back. The man grinned. "This is BD-1," he said, gesturing to the droid on his back. "As for me… my name is Cal Kestis." He gave Ben a knowing look. "And you're Ben Solo. Anakin Skywalker's grandson."

Ben turned quietly back to the fire at that, having no response, and so did Cal."How did she die?" Cal asked, his voice quiet and laced with sorrow. Ben told him the story: about Plagueis, and how Rey had helped him find balance and kill the Sith Lord, at the cost of her own life. The man nodded when the story was over. "I always knew she was destined for great things," he said with a sad smile. "I just wish I'd been there to see her do them."

A thought occurred to Ben then, and he turned to the man. "Why did you leave Rey?" he asked, his voice taking on a slightly accusatory tone. Cal sighed then, and he seemed to grow exhausted suddenly, as if the question had taken all the energy from him. "I never meant to," he said after a moment. "I… well, long before I met Rey, I traveled with a small group of friends. In the end, we went our separate ways, for a variety of reasons, though we tried to keep in touch. I traveled around, until I came to Jakku and met Rey. She was four when I found her, orphaned and living off scraps. I took her in, and trained her and raised her as best I could. Soon after she turned nine, though, I sensed one of my friends call to me through the Force. She needed my help. So I left, fully intending to come back in a couple of days.

"I arrived just in time to save her from the trouble she'd landed in. We talked for a bit, caught up, like old friends do. I stayed with her a couple days, then planned to go back. But the night before I was going to head back to Jakku, I received a Force vision, the most powerful one I'd ever had. In it, everything was on fire, burning red. There was screaming, and a cackling laugh. And Rey was standing in the middle of all of it, grown up and looking helpless. There was more, too, but I've since forgotten or blocked it from my mind. The message was clear, however awful it was: I couldn't go back to Rey, or even see her again, or the galaxy would fall." Cal was silent for a long moment, gazing deeply into the fire, as if he could distinguish which ashes were from Rey's now completely disintegrated body. "It pained me beyond words to do it, not to mention it was confusing beyond words, but I did. I never returned to Jakku, until tonight. And now I see why I needed to. If I had gone back to Rey, and completed her training, she would have fully adopted the Jedi ideals as her own." He turned to Ben and met his gaze with a knowing look. "She would never even have considered what she told you to do. And so this Darth Plagueis would have won." His eyes held an even mixture of sorrow and pride. "Because I never finished her training, she was able to help save the galaxy."

They were silent for a while longer. BD-1, still on Kestis' back, shifted slightly, watching the fire burn. "I have something for you," Cal said suddenly. "Something you might find useful." He reached into his cloak, and pulled out a small, clear crystal, glowing with Force energy. "A kyber crystal," Ben breathed in surprise. Cal nodded. "I found it after I left Rey. It called out to me in the Force, but when I picked it up it remained clear. I thought - hoped, really - that that meant it was for Rey, that I would be able to see her again and help her make her own lightsaber, but…" he looked at the funeral pyre sadly. "I see now that it's meant for you," he finished, holding the crystal out for Ben to take. Wordlessly, Ben reached out and took it from the older man.

The moment it touched his hand, he felt it awaken in the Force as he claimed it as his own. With a gentle hum, the crystal changed color, turning a deep, glowing violet. BD-1 let out a whistle of curiosity and wonder. "Purple," Cal observed. "The color of balance." Ben looked at the crystal with interest for a few moments. Then placed it into his pocket. "Thank you," he said to the other man. Kestis nodded. "One more thing," he said. "I… well, I told you. I don't have much longer." He then gestured to BD-1, who had shifted to his left shoulder. "Beedee here is my last friend, and… well… I don't want to leave him on his own." He met Ben's gaze. "But i wouldn't mind leaving him with you. Besides, whatever you do next, it's always good to have a droid at your side." Beedee chirped his agreement. Ben was quiet for a moment. "Alright," he said after a moment.

Cal nodded his thanks, then turned to the droid on his shoulder. With a whistle, BD-1 climbed down, then scurried over to Ben and climbed onto his shoulder instead. Ben was a bit surprised at first, but let the droid stay there, as he wasn't particularly bothered by it. Cal smiled at the droid, and placed a hand on his head. "Take good care of him, ok, BD-1?" Beedee beeped an affirmative, and Cal's smile turned sad. "Farewell, old friend," he said. The droid crooned sadly in response. He turned his gaze to Ben. "May the Force be with you," he said. "Always." And then Cal Kestis turned quietly, and walked off into the desert night, never to be seen by anyone again. And Ben, once more, was alone with his thoughts. Mostly.

BD-1 let out another sad croon, and Ben turned quietly back to the funeral pyre. The fire was finally starting to die down, and Ben realized there was no reason left for him to stay here. Nor, did he think, did he want to come back to Jakku ever again. As he turned to leave, he thought about maybe saying something, as a sort of final farewell to Rey. But as he stood there, thinking, he realized he had nothing to say. "Come on, BD-1," he said to his new companion. With one last look at the ashes of the dying fire, he turned away, and headed back towards his waiting shuttle.

/

Three days later, and Ben was once more on a desert planet. This one, however, had two suns instead of one, and he was here on his own, to put one last thing to rest. He'd told BD-1 to stay in the ship; this was something he wanted - and needed - to do alone. Apparently Bedee understood that well - maybe Kestis had had similar experiences - because the droid didn't ask any questions or protest, just beeped an affirmative and got to work on running ship diagnostics.

They'd landed in Mos Eisley spaceport, and Ben had quickly rented a landspeeder and headed out into the desert. He'd done his best to keep a low profile, as he didn't feel like being stared at or swarmed, and was mostly successful. It helped he'd changed his clothes - he was now wearing robes almost identical to the robes he used to wear as Kylo Ren, with the exception of the sleeves and the color. Instead of black, the robe was a deep brown, and the sleeves, rather than being concentric rings of cloth ending in gloves, were more standard sleeves, with gloves that went up to just below the elbow, similar to the ones he'd word as Darth Ren but not armored. Between the different clothes, keeping his hood up, and a couple minor mind tricks, he successfully managed to disguise himself while he rented the speeder.

He hadn't asked for directions before he'd left - it was unlikely anyone would know about the place he wanted to go anyway - but he didn't need them, anyway; he let the Force guide him across the shifting sands of Tatooine. Eventually, as the twin suns, were beginning to set, he saw the first few moisture vaporators marking the edge of the property. They were dilapidated and rusty - no one had been here to take care of them in over thirty years. He slowed his speeder as he passed them, heading towards the homestead itself. A moment later, he stopped the speeder near the dwelling entrance and got out, looking at it with interest.

The Lars homestead was long abandoned, with much of its interior likely either destroyed or looted many times over. But the shell of it, the metal and sandstone, still stood, and the aura of the place within the Force remained. Ben gazed at the entrance dome of the dwelling with interest. This place was where his great grandmother was buried by his grandfather, and where his uncle had lived for his formative years, before he left to face the Empire. It, like R2-D2 and C-3PO, and like the lightsaber on his belt, were a line connecting the entire Skywalker family.

Ben drew the Skywalker lightsaber from his belt and held it almost reverently in his hand. He hadn't really thought about it until now, with everything else that had been on his mind. But now, he reached out in the Force and felt how much this saber had done. This blade had cut down droids, stormtroopers, Jedi and Sith alike. It had traveled across the galaxy many times over. It had fought in wars that determined the fate of the entire galaxy. And it had helped bring balance to the Force. And now, it was his. The last of the Skywalkers.

Lowering his hand, he looked over at the landspeeder behind him, and walked over to it. Sitting in the passenger seat, seeming to stare up at him, was the burnt, warped shell of Darth Vader's helmet. He picked it up with his free hand and looked at it, feeling like the empty eyeholes were piercing his soul. He'd almost worshipped this helmet for years, thinking of it as a conduit to his grandfather's spirit. He'd singlehandedly kept Vader's legacy alive even after it should have been gone. And now he was here to lay it to rest, the way he should have left it on Endor all those years ago.

As Ben turned away from the speeder, the helmet in one hand and the saber in the other, he suddenly felt a presence in the Force. It was strong, and grew stronger as he stood there, and he watched with surprise as a glowing blue figure appeared before him. It was a young man in Jedi robes, with wavy brown hair down to his shoulders, blue eyes, and a gentle smile on his face. He'd never seen this ghost before, but he recognized the Force signature. It was the same one that he'd felt on Dantooine. "Grandfather," Ben breathed in surprise. Anakin Skywalker smiled back at him. "Hello, Ben," he said, and Ben realized with a jolt he'd heard that voice before. It was the one he'd heard in his final duel with Plagueis, the one that hadn't been a memory.

"You've done it," Anakin said, a note of pride in his voice. "You've brought balance to the Force. You finished what me and Luke started." His smile grew. "I'm proud of you, Ben." Ben, just getting over his shock, did not respond, but he allowed himself to feel a small bit of warmth at his grandfather's words. "We all are," another male voice said, and now Luke was there, and then, beside him, Leia. Ben was overwhelmed. He just stared at them, all smiling at him with pride, and then he realized he was crying, tears coming down his face. "I'm sorry," he said, and he wasn't sure which one of them he was speaking to, just that he really was sorry, sorry for everything he'd done to them. "You don't need to apologize," his mother said, her smile gentle and comforting. "We already know. And you're already fixing your mistakes. There's nothing to apologize for." Ben finally reacted, giving his mother a small, grateful smile.

He looked around at them. He had so many things he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to ask, but as he looked at them he realized what he wanted to ask most. "Is… is dad…?" he asked, trailing off. It felt strange to call Han "dad" after so long, but also felt like it was what he was supposed to say. Leia's smile turned sad. "He wasn't Force sensitive," she said. "Only people who were Force sensitive, and had the right training, can manifest like this." Leia's eyes turned serious. "He forgave you too. You know he did." Ben nodded sadly. He'd still wanted to see him again, to apologize directly to him, but he knew his father forgave him. He didn't even ask about Rey. She certainly wouldn't have had the training necessary. Maybe it was for the best he didn't see either of them again; he needed to let those wounds heal.

He turned back to Anakin, who smiled at him again before shifting his gaze to the helmet in Ben's left hand. "I came here to bury it," Ben told him in explanation. "To put Vader's legacy to rest for good. To make sure it's forgotten." Luke laughed. "Oh, you don't want to bury it here," he joked. "My father doesn't like sand." Anakin shot him a look that didn't have much venom in it at all, and Ben got the feeling he was missing some sort of inside joke. His grandfather turned back to him. "I think you should keep it," he said abruptly. Ben looked at him in surprise. "Not every legacy should be forgotten," he continued, and Ben noticed a small part of his face seemed to be turning black and metallic, and his left eye had changed to resemble more of a lens. It was Vader's eye, Ben realized. The Dark Side was still part of Anakin. "Ended, maybe, but some you must remember, or you can't learn from them," Anakin continued. Ben could hear a quiet, deep voice similar to Vader's speaking at the same time as Anakin, barely noticeable. He extended his ghostly hands towards the helmet. "May I?" he asked. Ben looked at him, confused, but held out the helmet, unsure how Anakin would be able to hold it. To his surprise, however, when Anakin touched the helmet with his hands, he was able to actually touch and lift the helmet. He held it in both hands, looking at it intently. Ben wondered if it was strange for him to be seeing the helmet from the outside, after having worn it himself for the latter half of his life.

Anakin closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. As Ben watched, the helmet began to warp and shift, although it made little noise, only an occasional squeak of metal. After a few moments, the helmet stopped moving, and sitting in Anakin's hands was now a helmet almost identical to the one Ben had worn as Kylo Ren, although it was medium gray instead of black and silver, and it was really only a shell of a helmet, without a lens or any internal mechanisms. Anakin held the helmet back out to Ben. "I want you to take this," he said. Ben looked at him incredulously. "I can't wear this," he said. "It's… it represents so much pain." Anakin gave him a comforting smile. "You can wear it," he said, pressing it into Ben's free hand. "Let go of the pain, but remember what it taught you." He met Ben's eyes with his own. "If you distance yourself from your past, if you don't accept it, you can't learn from it. Carry its memory with you, and use it to do good in the galaxy. That's how you make sure Vader's legacy - the Sith's legacy - doesn't stay alive, or return. By going against everything they stood for."

Anakin let go of the helmet, leaving it in Ben's hand, and he looked down at it for a moment before looking back up at the Force ghosts in front of him, and smiling at them. His grandfather, a man who had changed the course of galactic history twice, who was equal parts Jedi and Sith, who, like Ben, had spent his entire life letting someone else make choices for him, before making his own decision by sacrificing his life to fix the damage he'd caused. His uncle, who was a blinding beacon of light, who believed in compassion and redemption and had refused to give up on his father, saving him, and then refused to give up on Ben, even when he'd given up on himself. And his mother, who also had refused to give up on him, and had never stopped loving him even after he'd abandoned and rejected her. Each in their own way had helped to fulfill the prophecy of the Chosen One. The Chosen One wasn't one person, it was a family: the Skywalker family. And now, finally, the prophecy was fulfilled.

As Ben stood there, he realized, out of all his questions, only one needed to be asked. "What happens now?" he asked them. "Now that I'm free? What do I do?" Anakin smiled at him. "That's your choice to make," he said. "Like you said, you're free. You're not in anyone's shadow anymore. Where you go from here? That's up to you." Anakin reached out and placed a hand on Ben's shoulder, and Ben felt it. "But whatever you do, know we'll always be with you," Luke spoke up. Anakin stepped back, and Ben smiled at all three of them, and they smiled back. And then they faded back into the Force, with no sign they had ever been there, but Ben knew they weren't really gone. If he reached out far enough into the Force, he still felt their presences, and they would always be there for him. A part of him thought he didn't deserve that comfort, but he ignored that part of himself, and itgrew quiet.

Ben looked down at the helmet in his hand. He'd have to make a few modifications to it: it needed a lens, and all the internal devices his last one had, to make it more comfortable, and maybe a bit of paint. But he'd worry about all that later. He lifted the helmet up and placed it over his head, ignoring the slight discomfort, and drew his hood up over it. Then he looked down at the Skywalker lightsaber in his right hand. It was a symbol as much as it was a weapon: a reminder to him to always do what he knew was right, even if his emotions made him feel it was wrong. He gently returned it to his belt, on the left side. Then, from the right side of his belt, he drew his own lightsaber.

The handle was silver, like it had been before he'd turned to the dark side. The crossguards were still there, also silver, even though they were no longer strictly necessary, as the new purple crystal did not generate excess heat. The loose wires and gaps in the plating were also gone, giving the lightsaber a much less haphazard look; it no longer looked like a saber made by a child, which Ben thought was fitting, because he himself was certainly not a child anymore. Ben pressed the ignition switch, and with a hiss the bright purple blade extended, followed a moment later by the secondary blades, casting its light onto Ben. Purple - the color of balance, and to Ben, a sign of his freedom.

And as Ben Skywalker lowered his saber and gazed off into the Tatooine sunset like his uncle had done in this same spot before him, he knew that whatever he did next, wherever he went, the Force would be with him.

Always.

THE END

A/N: Well, here we are. At the end of the Skywalker Saga. Balance has finally been restored to the Force, the Jedi and Sith are both gone for good, and Ben Skywalker, last of the Skywalker line, is now free from anyone else's shadow or control, to forge his own path in the galaxy.

But, in Ben's own words, we're not done yet.

That's right, the Skywalker Saga may be over, but Ben's story is just getting started. And I will tell it in my Star Wars: The Legacy Anthology series, so be on the lookout for that!

And yes, Rey's master was Cal Kestis. If you don't know who that is, he's the protagonist of Jedi: Fallen Order. And BD-1 is now Ben's companion, because a) he's cute and b) all Star Wars protagonists need a droid sidekick.

Thank you for bearing with me through this story, and I hope you enjoyed it! Be on the lookout for Legacy, and as always, may the Force be with you!