Force Dyad
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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.
Chapter Sixty-Four-The Passing of a Legend
The remaining knights knew they were done for when they saw Rey and Skywalker emerge from the gloom to back up Solo. This was not turning out at all how they had anticipated. Without their leader, Ren, to spur them on, they decided to beat a retreat and make a run for their ship-Night Buzzard.
Ben watched them go with little emotion. They were cowards, the lot of them. He knew retribution would be swift once Snoke got hold of them. He didn't pity them their fate when they crossed paths with the Supreme Leader, they deserved everything that was coming their way.
"Ben!"
Rey's voice was like the sweetest music. As soon as his gaze landed on her lovely face, she was stealing his breath and the heat from his skin. Before he could draw more air into his body, she melted into his form. His arms immediately wrapped around her. Rey could feel his firm torso and his heart beating rapidly underneath his ribcage. His hands folded around her back, drawing her in closer. She could feel his body shaking with the intensity of their emotional reunion.
Then they were both crying, crying to release the tension of all they had been through and survived. Ben pulled back slightly and gently wiped away Rey's tears with a calloused finger, even this roughness brought her more relief than her heart could hold. He was eating her with his eyes, running his hand through her tangled hair that had come undone from her solitary braid. He looked like he couldn't quite believe she wasn't part of an almost forgotten dream. When he bent his head to kiss her, it was sweet, gentle, and it tasted of their tears.
Rey wanted to speak but all she managed to do was croak, "I was so scared, I love you."
Ben's mouth painted a soft smile and he nodded once before folding her in his arms again, holding on tightly, as if never intending to let her go. "I love you, too."
Even though Ben and Rey could have stayed lost in this precious moment forever, circumstances wouldn't allow them more than a moment to breathe. The Tie Fighters made another sweep of Ahch-to's battered surface, seemingly determined to obliterate every last trace of the stone structures that made up the ruined Jedi temple.
Reluctantly, Ben released Rey, just enough so he could scan the immediate area around him. The first thing that moved into his line of sight was his uncle. Ben stiffened-having not given one thought to Skywalker's fate as he fought for his life against the knights-he was now unexpectedly confronted with his estranged relative. They regarded each other as all around them the destruction by Snoke's minions continued unabated.
"I failed you, Ben." Skywalker said in a low voice. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you are." Ben replied coolly. "But your apologies come too late."
He waited to see what else his former master would say, but an explosion from behind nearly knocked them all off their feet. Ben grabbed Rey in his arms, using his body to protect her from the worst of the blast. He felt heat sear his back and he gritted his teeth against the pain.
"You both need to get out of here!" Skywalker yelled hoarsely, trying to make himself heard above the chaos. "Get to the Falcon and go."
Another explosion rent the air as if it was intent on shattering the galaxy by ripping apart every atom. A ball of fire came at them like a golden ball, igniting the night, outshining even the stars.
"GO!" Skywalker roared.
Alarmed, Rey broke free of Ben's arms and stared at the Jedi master in confusion. "You're not coming with us?"
"My place is here." Skywalker gave her an enigmatic smile. "Its time Supreme Leader Snoke and I had a little talk."
"You're mad!" Ben accused. "You're just going to let yourself get captured? What will that achieve?"
"Getting captured is not the plan." Skywalker said calmly.
"Then what is?" Ben demanded in frustration.
"That's not your concern anymore, Ben." Skywalker's tone actually conveyed some affection, throwing Ben off his guard. He tried to read his uncle, but Skywalker's expression remained aloof. "I see now that I was wrong. About everything."
"Start making some sense!" Ben felt like his perception of everything was becoming skewed. He felt Rey slip her arm around his waist and he leaned on her for support.
"You're the chosen one, Ben." Skywalker continued. "It was always you. I was too blind to see." He smiled sadly at his nephew. "I have to go now. See you around, kid."
And then, he turned around and disappeared into the gloom, leaving Ben and Rey staring after him in shock.
Ben and Rey could hardly recall their nightmarish journey back to the Millennium Falcon. The whole island seemed like one raging inferno of flames. Thick black smoke threatened to choke them as a continuous array of explosions tried to knock them off their feet. It swirled as if the wisps were dance partners of ancient myth.
They held onto each other as they staggered up the Falcon's opened ramp. They found BB-8 inside, plugged into a dataport in the cockpit so he could access the freighter's sensors. Somehow, through sheer stubbornness, the little astromech had finally gotten the ship's environmental systems to cooperate.
BB-8 let out a low whistle of relief when he saw Ben and Rey climb into the cockpit.
"Hold on, BB-8." Rey flashed him a tired smile as she settled in the co-pilots seat.
The little droid beeped an acknowledgement as he concentrated on keeping the Falcon's scanners from overloading.
"You ready, sweetheart?" Ben checked as he glanced over at Rey and locked eyes with her. "This is going to be one bumpy ride."
"I'm ready." Rey confirmed with another quirk of her lips. "We've been in worse scrapes than this and survived. The Falcon won't let us down, especially with you at the helm."
"That's my girl." Ben praised her, giving her a very Han Solo like grin.
Interpretating visions of the future was a dangerous game, Snoke decided. Whether Jedi, Sith, or some other sect less celebrated by history, all those who used the Force to explore possible time lines kept that uppermost in their minds. Those who didn't died regretting that they hadn't.
He had not foreseen how much visions of the future left out. The failure of Voe and the Knights of Ren to capture young Ben Solo was one of them.
Another was seeing the jedi master, Luke Skywalker, striding confidently into his throne room on the Supremacy seemingly without a care in the world.
But Snoke also knew that appearances were often deceiving-sometimes fatally so. He regarded Skywalker with calculating eyes. The old jedi master looked small in the throne room, dwarfed both by his surroundings and the galaxy, but he remained unintimidated, his blue eyes calm and tranquil.
Skywalker had always been an obstacle in his way. Like his father, Skywalker had been a favoured instrument of the will of the cosmic Force. That had made it essential to watch him. And once the jedi master had endangered Snoke's design, it had become essential to act.
And so Snoke had drawn upon his fast store of knowledge, parcelling it out to confuse Skywalker's path, ensnare his family, and harness Ben's Solo's powers to ensure both Skywalker's destruction and Snoke's triumph.
But Snoke's insidious plan to warp Skywalker's nephew and lure him to the dark side hadn't gone according to plan. Obstacles he hadn't foreseen had been thrown in his path, obstacles that had been hidden from him. The endgame he had originally sought had been forced to change. Ben Solo's strong will continued to thwart his every attempt to reel him in. His machinations had nearly succeeded, he had been close to his goal, but, once again, Solo had turned away and gone his own way.
It was only when he had utilised one of Skywalker's former students' inner darkness to his own advantage, that Snoke had learned the true reason why Ben Solo remained bound to the light. Voe's blind hatred and jealousy of a young scavenger girl by the name of Rey, and Ben's blind devotion to her, opened Snoke's eyes to where he had been going wrong all this time. The girl Rey was the key to all his failures-kill her and he would have everything he desired. Both of Voe's attempts had ended in failure. She had paid the price by dying at the scavenger's hands. The knights of Ren had been beaten, those who hadn't been killed were scattered to the four winds.
Snoke was seething…and then Skywalker walked boldly into his throne room.
He reached out with the Force, whose power had waxed even as his body had withered. To his annoyance he found Skywalker still strong-even more powerful than he imagined. Strong with the Force, and with the kind of towering will to command it.
"So much strength." Snoke said, savouring the currents of power in the room and the chaos of their collisions. "Finally, we meet, Skywalker."
Luke stared at the gaunt, robed figure with something akin to pity. "Your time is coming to an end." He said loudly. "You have underestimated my nephew all these years, just as you have underestimated me. He will be your downfall."
Snoke's eyes glittered with feral amusement. "Oh?" He sneered. "Have you seen something? Careful, Skywalker. You have been fooled before."
"Not this time, Snoke." Luke stated calmly. "This time you are the one who's been fooled."
Snoke's eyes narrowed in anger. He raised his hand, intending to use the Force to hurl Skywalker across the room for his arrogance. But his attempt had no affect on the jedi master at all. He tried again, the very air between them bent and wavered as Snoke harnessed the Force and made it his weapon. Again, it had no effect on Skywalker.
"What is this?" The Supreme Leader roared. He strode down from his throne, his long robes swirling about him as he confronted Skywalker's smaller figure.
The Jedi master remained eerily calm as he raised his eyes to meet Snoke's. "While you've been procrastinating about my imminent demise, you made the fatal mistake of taking your eyes off the bigger picture, giving my nephew timed to escape and re-join the Resistance. Your days are numbered, Supreme Leader. I bid you farewell."
Skywalker gave the enraged Supreme Leader a mock salute before he promptly disappeared.
On the ledge overlooking the sea, Luke Skywalker floated a few centimetres above the stone. Pebbles hovered around him. His eyes were closed and his legs crossed. His face was strained, and beneath his grey beard, the tendons of his neck stood out. Tears streamed down his weathered cheeks as he poured his strength, his very essence into the Force.
Behind him, the peak shuddered as another explosion rent the planet's surface, shedding dust and debris.
Let go, Luke.
Skywalker had no idea who the voice belonged to, but he did as the voice bid him. His body faded away, leaving the ledge empty.
A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.