"(What're you gonna do when we get there?)"

Chewbacca's soft roar interrupted Ben's thoughts. He had been staring blankly out the windshield at the flashing lights of hyperspace, lost as he pondered on the very question Chewbacca had just asked him. Blinking a few times, Ben shifted his attention to look at his Wookie uncle.

"I...I don't know," he gave a gentle shrug before looking back to hyperspace. They sat together in silence, each relaxed in their co-pilot chairs, each watching the lights flash by outside the window. Ben sincerely had no idea what he was going to say or do when they got there. He had no idea what Luke was going to say or do either. He was unsure whether Luke would try to kill him, or if he'd try to make amends, or do something completely unpredicted. Ben was heading into unknown territory, and he could feel fear creeping up on him with every parsec closer to Ach-To, "What do you think I should do?"

There was a long pause before Chewie grunted, "(I dunno kid…)" his words trailed as he took in a breath, "(I don't fully understand what happened between you two. It's not really my place to say,)" Chewie wished Han were here to help him, though he didn't dare say this aloud. Chewbacca had always been the fun uncle, showing off ships and weapons. Whenever Ben got into his emotions as a kid, Chewie would always pass him off to Han. But now that Han was gone, the Wookie was taking the full force of it.

Ben nodded at his words slightly, knowing the other was right despite wishing he wasn't. Solo desperately wanted some guidance, and he didn't expect Anakin to come around and help him through this. 'This is your burden to bear'; Anakin made himself very clear. Despite that, Ben still dreaded their arrival. He slumped a bit in his seat with a sigh, feeling the pressure of the situation fall solely on his shoulders.

Glancing over for a second, Chewbacca felt kind of bad for him, "(Look...)" he began, "(If neither of you want to face it right now, you can just get him to come with us and deal with it later,)" this was the best advice Chewie could give. He was unskilled with this area of talking with people, and unfamiliar with the conflict; but at least it was something.

Nodding a bit, Ben pursed his lips, "Not a bad idea," he started, drawing in a breath. "Thanks." Then it was back to silence. Time streamed past them as Ben retreated back into his thoughts. Despite the minimal advice from Chewbacca, he was glad to have any advice at all. Usually Snoke would've just berated him for even asking, or would've taken Ben's need for help as an opportunity to take advantage of him. He could never ask Hux for advice, more out of spite than anything else. And his status of power would be questioned if he ever faltered in front of any First Order subordinate. But now, all that was gone. Now, when he asked for advice, it was given. Minimal or not, he appreciated it. To not have to face a difficult problem alone was refreshing.

A light on the dash began blinking and Chewbacca sat up a bit. "(We're coming out of hyperspace.)" He said, though Ben didn't need to be told. He already knew what that light meant and had sat up himself, leaning forward and pressing a few buttons as he prepared to take the controls once more. Chewbacca, who had watched him, smiled a bit before doing the same on his side of the cockpit.

With a jostle, the dazzling blue hyperspace disappeared, making way for the darkness of space and a watery looking planet ahead of them. Both the pilots took up the controls and began heading toward the planet. The ship's navicomputer guided them no longer, as the map only led to the planet itself and not to Luke's exact location. They'd have to look for him.

The closer they got to the planet, the more the two understood. From the side they approached, there was a plethora of islands dotted across its watery surface; some islands were big, others were small. In short, there didn't seem to be one specific landmass, only scattered rock.

Soon enough, they began to enter the atmosphere. Reaching up, Ben flicked a few switches before holding the controls firmly again, beginning the hyperdrive's cool down sequence. The Falcon rumbled gently with the change in pressure as it pushed down through Ach-To's atmosphere.

Finally, when the rumbling stopped, they leveled out above the clouds and began cruising.

"(Hey, kid. Can you do that magic stuff to find him? There's so many islands… It could take us forever to search ourselves.)" Chewbacca said, understanding Jedi things in the most minimal of ways.

Ben, looking at him, nodded and shrugged at the same time. "I can try. You got the controls?"

"(Yep.)"

Drawing in a deep breath, Solo took his hands off the controls and placed them on his knees. He let his eyes shut, trying to let the feelings of the Force fill him. He could feel the Force as it radiated off of Chewbacca, and he could feel it as the energy flowing around him, but he was feeling quite disconnected from it. Furrowing his brows, he raised a hand and stuck it forward as he tried to channel the Force through it. This helped a bit, widening his array so he could feel R2's signature, but still no Luke.

Suddenly Ben's eyes popped open and he pointed, "There." He instructed, directing Chewbacca's attention to a large rocky island that jutted out of the sea and reached for the sky.

"(Luke?)" Chewie asked, redirecting the Falcon toward it.

Ben lowered his hand and he looked unsure, "No...but I just have this feeling. The Force is stronger over there. I can't explain it, it just feels like it's radiating light and the dark."

"(I have no idea what that means, but whatever you say.)" Chewbacca roared with a shrug.

They soon began the landing sequence, gently touching the ship down on a flatter clearing of grass near a small cliffside. The island's weather seemed to be mild at the moment, the winds calm and the sea gentle; all great conditions for a good landing. Once the landing gear touched the ground, Ben began pressing buttons and flipping switches to shut down the engines.

Hearing the Falcon power down, Ben let out a sigh as he stared blankly at the scenery ahead of them.

"(You…Gonna be okay?)" Chewie asked, looking at him with concern.

Ben pursed his lips in thought before nodding slowly, "Yeah… Yeah I'll be fine," Ben said, though his tone indicated he didn't fully believe what he was saying, "I have to be okay. For Mom, for the cause, for you; for all of it." At his words, Chewbacca only nodded. Standing, the Wookie placed a firm hand on the man's shoulder, giving it a squeeze before he moved down the hallway towards the rest of the Falcon, out of sight.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ben closed his eyes for a moment. He was taking in his surroundings, making himself present. He was admiring the calm of the moment, for he knew a storm was coming. He tried to stay peaceful in silence for as long as possible. The distant thunk of the boarding ramp hit the ground, stirring his solace. Opening his eyes, he furrowed his brows. It was time.

Drawing in a big breath, he stood and exited the cockpit. Fists balled at his sides, Ben strode down the corridor, through the main hold, and out to the boarding ramp. Chewbacca and R2 were standing at the bottom of it. Outside the ship was a mixture of rocks and grass, though where they landed seemed to have jagged stone steps leading up the hillside. R2 was seemingly doing a scan, and Chewbacca held a pair of binoculars in his wooly hands, overlooking the landscape. Stepping down the ramp, Ben stopped next to his Wookie uncle.

"See anything?" He asked.

Chewbacca shook his head before handing the binoculars to Ben. Using them, Solo tried to look for anything out of the ordinary, but the Wookie was right; there was no sign of any life from their vantage point..

"R2, are you picking up anything?" Ben asked, lowering the binoculars.

R2D2 turned to look at the human before rattling and beeping, though his tone didn't sound pleasant.

"I know you're still mad at me, that's fine. Can you just tell me the answer?" Ben asked with a hint of exasperation in his tone.

R2 beeped back grumpily before looking away.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Ben scoffed slightly before looking to Chewie, "There's a village over that ridge," Ben pointed to his right, "But R2 didn't detect human life."

Suddenly R2 beeped up again, this time with more excitement. Looking to the droid, Ben felt his breath hitch in his chest. The droid relayed to them that he had just identified a human life up on a cliff side to the left of them. It had to be Luke.

Looking to Chewbacca, Ben's brows turned up, nerves showing in his expression. The Wookie said nothing, for there was nothing to say that could make the situation any better. All he did was place a furry hand on Ben's back before giving it a few pats. Sighing, Ben understood that was a friendly signifier to get going.

Drawing in a deep breath and clenching his fists at his sides, Ben began walking forward. R2 beeped angrily a few times before following Ben, who didn't turn around to address the droid.

"(Hold on, R2,)" Chewie said, stopping the droid before he could truly follow, "(This is something Ben has to do by himself.)"

R2 let out a series of very angry beeps.

"(He's not gonna do anything. Calm down.)" Chewbacca huffed.

R2 beeped skeptically but remained put, watching Ben walk off up the hillside.

With each step Ben took, he felt heavier and heavier. One part of his mind was screaming at him to turn back, to run away; the other hissed at him to continue and exact his revenge. A third quieter part told him to just do his job. The higher he climbed, the more anxiety crept through him. And when he finally crested over the top of the hill, he turned to look back. Chewbacca and R2D2 still watched him, though they didn't do anything upon making eye contact.

Taking in a deep breath, Ben turned away and pushed forward. The path was winding as he followed steep stone steps that streaked through the island. At one point they forked off but Ben stayed to his left, heading for around where R2 had sensed human life. Every time he rounded a rocky corner, more steps waited for him and the higher it got, the windier it got; the air jostled his hair and pushed it over his face. Walking farther now, he climbed over stones, and began his next hike uphill. Yet he didn't stop walking, didn't stop pushing on until he finally turned his last rocky corner.

There, standing on the edge of the cliffside facing the sea, stood an average sized figure. Ben didn't even have to speculate on who it was. Upon seeing the back of this man, he knew immediately; Luke Skywalker. Ben felt his jaw tighten and his muscles tense at the mere sight of the man who had tried to kill him in his sleep. Despite Ben's visceral reaction, Skywalker hadn't seemed to notice the fact that he was no longer alone.

Gulping back his emotions, Ben approached. It was a slow progression, and his breathing became shallower with each passing second, the tension inside him growing tighter and tighter. He only came to a halt when he was but a few feet away from Skywalker. There was a pause, and even the wind stopped blowing for a moment as the atmosphere around them held its breath.

Luke, who still hadn't noticed, let out a soft sigh before bowing his head and turning to leave the cliffside. As soon as he turned, Luke felt his whole body stiffen, eyes gliding up the new person into the eyes of Ben Solo, Luke felt the world go silent around him. His face fell, guilt and fear crashing over him like a cold tsunami wave. Staring up at his nephew, the very reason why he was hiding, caused his body to go numb and his legs to go weak.

Luke dropped to his knees as he expected the worst, gaze still locked on Ben as tears stung his eyes and pain crushed his heart. This was it for him, he was sure of it. Why else would Ben have come except to enact his revenge? And the way Ben stepped closer, pulling the lightsaber off his belt as he did so, practically confirmed it for Skywalker.

Ben's mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. Every second, a new idea appeared, then disappeared to be replaced by another. And yet the loudest thought of them all begged for Ben to kill Skywalker; to enact his revenge, to fulfill some long-passed destiny set by Snoke. And as Ben stopped in front of his uncle, eyes staring at the silver saber hilt that was clenched tightly in his hand, he thought about doing it. About taking the opportunity to do what he wanted to do for years; to take the easy way out of the confrontation and end it before it could begin. Seeing and understanding this, Luke slowly let his eyes shut as if preparing for the final strike.

And yet, It never came. The wind resumed its gentle blowing, and the sound of the sea splashing against the rocks below once again made noise. The breath the world had been holding released, and Luke opened his eyes in the absence of the laser blade. He was met with Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber being offered to him by Ben, and when he looked up at his nephew's face, his expression was utterly unreadable.

"B-Ben?" Luke whispered, hoarse voice cracking as he stared, bewildered.

Ben's jaw clenched tighter, lips pursing as he held himself together by a thread, "Take it," was all he could manage through gritted teeth.

Glancing back at the lightsaber for a moment, confusion joined Luke's expression. "I don't… Understand..."

"Take. It." Ben snapped out, eyes glaring down at his uncle as his hand pushed the saber closer. He was breathing steadily out his nose in an attempt to keep himself calm, attempting to ignore the tightness in his chest and the lump rising in his throat. A fearful reaction took over Luke and he reached a hand up, gently taking the saber from Ben, who let him have it with ease. Now that the weapon was out of his hand, Ben felt even worse. His anxiety told him that Skywalker would do it again, that he'd use the saber to strike him down. But Luke looked so pathetic on the ground in front of him, eyes red and tears occasionally streaking down his cheeks; Ben didn't feel like he was in any actual danger at that moment, "She needs you."

Luke squinted for a moment in confusion. "She...?"

Ben scrunched his nose a bit as he looked away from Luke, "Leia sent me to retrieve you." He informed, his tone ice cold and factual as he desperately tried to distance himself emotionally from the conversation.

Slowly, Luke got to his feet, "Leia..." he repeated, staring down at the lightsaber. While he already knew this was Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, it suddenly clicked that this was the only lightsaber Ben seemed to have. Looking back to his nephew, shock took over Luke's expression, "You've…?"

Turning his head back to Luke now, Ben glared at his uncle, seemingly piecing his words together; 'you've come back?' was the implied question. It made him angry, spiteful, hateful, "No thanks to you."

Luke's posture sank and he looked down, "I know," he admitted, brows furrowed sadly as he wallowed in his guilt, "I'm sorry, Ben," he said gently, now refocusing his attention to his nephew.

Ben let out a huff from his nose, looking away as he shook his head gently. It was hard to even look at him, "I'm sure you are…It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that I take you back to Leia, and you help her and her resistance defeat the First Order." He stated bluntly.

There was a pause, and when Ben finally looked back at his uncle, Luke was staring at the lightsaber, spinning it slowly in his hands, the gentle tink of his metal fingers against the hilt ringing over the crashing waves. Finally, he spoke. "I can't do that."

Ben scoffed. "Why?"

"Because I'm not the man she thinks I am. I can't help her anymore," Luke said sternly, looking back at Ben. He shoved the unlit lightsaber into the kid's chest as he began to walk past, and Ben only grabbed it to keep it from falling to the ground, "Go help her yourself. The Luke Skywalker she wants is gone. Just leave." The older man started walking away, leaving Ben to stare after him dumbfounded.

The feeling of shock slowly turned into disgust, and before Luke could get far, something froze him in place, against his will. The invisible grip lifted him a few inches above the ground and turned him to face Ben once more, whose hand was outstretched as he used the Force to halt his uncle's retreat.

"No," Ben growled, taking a step forward while keeping his hand in the air, "No, you don't get to run from this. Do you have any idea what you've done? Not just to me, but to them?" Ben hissed, taking another step. His hand curled tighter in the air, subsequently putting pressure on Luke's whole body and making him feel as if he were being crushed. Fear once more filled Luke's grief-stricken expression as he stared at Ben, horrified, "You did more than just try to kill me! You alienated me, tried to control me, pushed me away all because you were scared. Sometimes you were no better than Snoke. You didn't just fail me as a teacher, you failed me as an uncle, as my family. And when that came back to bite you, you failed the rest of your family too," with every sentence he stepped closer and closer to Luke, crushing him a little more with the Force as he did so, "And now, when you have the perfect opportunity to make amends for it, you cower away just like every other time. The hardest part has already been done for you! I came back to the light without you! And yet..." Ben looked his uncle up and down. During the whole time he had spent on Ach-To, he hadn't been able to feel Luke the same way he could feel Chewbacca, or had been able to feel his mother at the rebel base or Rey on Starkiller. He scoffed with a disappointed smile at the realization. The man in front of Ben radiated nothing at all, "You even cut yourself off from the Force… Pathetic." And with his final words, he dropped his hold on Luke, who fell to the ground with a thud on his hands and knees.

Luke breathed heavily, staring at the grass under his hands as he regained control of his body. The whole time he had been suspended in air, all his mind could think about was how this was a perfect example of the pure power Ben held. He had fully expected the encounter to end with his death. But the fact that Ben let him go, that Luke could still feel the rise and fall in his own chest made it worse. It convinced him that Ben had never been truly gone, that his raw instincts so long ago had been wrong. Luke felt the tears that had been welling in his eyes fall quicker now, ears ringing with regret and pain.

The two existed like this for a moment; Ben staring down at who he considered a pathetic excuse for an uncle, Luke staring at the grass and trying to hold himself together. Finally, Luke shakily moved to his feet, eyes glued to the ground as he didn't dare look up. Without a word, he turned away from Ben and continued his way down the hill, this time uninterrupted in his retreat.

Ben felt the tension in his shoulders disperse as Luke got farther and farther away from him. Anger bubbled in his chest, and he desperately wanted to smash something with the saber he held in his hand, but he controlled himself to wait. When Luke was out of view, Ben let out a restrained growl and threw the lightsaber in an attempt to outlet his anger in some way.

Instead of the weapon hitting the nearby rock Ben had aimed for, it was caught by a blue translucent hand. Slowly, the hand connected to an arm and then a shoulder as Anakin Skywalker materialized and revealed himself. Ben, upon seeing his grandfather, immediately felt embarrassed about throwing the weapon and looked down.

"I don't know what you want me to do," Ben stated bluntly, fists balling at his sides, "He refused to come. He doesn't even know what I've done yet, and he still refuses, even when I'm standing right in front of him as his nephew!" his tone was exasperated as the energy he had just exerted to simply hold a conversation with Luke exhausted him. Anakin hadn't made to say anything, simply standing in front of his grandson and listening, "First Rey wouldn't listen to me, and now he won't… I'm trying… So hard..."

"I know." Anakin finally spoke, looking to Ben in understanding. Ben refocused his attention on the force ghost with raised, the expression of a tired child on Ben's face.

"I don't understand why Leia wants him around so bad, anyways. What's he going to do? What difference will he even make? How will this help anything?" Ben asked desperately, hoping his grandfather had all the answers for him.

Anakin looked at him almost with pity. Ben was tired. He'd been bounced around from person to person, getting hurt physically and emotionally, for the past couple of days. He was exhausted, not even having had a moment yet to rest and reflect on everything that had happened to him. A crumb of guidance was all he wanted. Someone who wanted to help him, who would have his best interest at heart when doing so.

"Palpatine is back," Anakin began slowly, as if thinking his words up just before they came out, "Presumably, he is manipulating Rey as we speak to begin a new generation of Sith. If there is Sith, there must be Jedi to stop them." Ben looked away at this. Hearing his grandfather's words, he knew Anakin was right, though he didn't like it, "Your mother was right in seeking Luke out. He must rejoin this fight as the last Jedi. I know this is hard on you, I'm not asking you to forgive him-"

"I won't." Ben interrupted, head snapping back to look at Anakin.

" -But I am asking you to understand him," Anakin continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "If you want to get him back to the Resistance, you need to level with him. He's had the responsibility of reviving the Jedi Order on his shoulders and his shoulders alone for far too long. If you work with him, you may find the resolution you both seek."

Ben groaned at his grandfather's words, rolling his eyes, "I'm so tired of being told some vague solution by those who are supposed to be helping me," he shook his head, "No. I'm going to drag him out if I have to," he stated, beginning to walk, snatching the lightsaber out of Anakin's hand as he walked past, "You can either help me, really help me, or you can go away," and with that, he stormed off back down the steps. He knew he was overreacting, but the implication Anakin was making frustrated him to the point of walking off.

He followed the path back down, the same way Luke had gone. When he had gotten back to the path's fork and took the opposite path, and when he crested over a final hill, his gaze fell on a small village with rock-domed huts down at the bottom of it. Ben supposed this is where Luke had fled to, and he continued his walk down the path towards the village. He no longer felt Anakin's presence, and he supposed his grandfather had heeded his words and left him alone.

Once Ben found his feet on the rocky path that ran through the town, he glanced from hut to hut, looking for any sign of Luke. Jumping slightly at the creak from a door to his left, he looked to see who opened it. Staring back at him with small glassy eyes was a short, unknown creature, with smooth skin and a rounded face.

Blinking a few times, Ben cocked his head at it before deciding to speak, "Where is Luke Skywalker?" He asked, assuming the creature would know the name. It said nothing, but its eyes glanced at a hut near a half-wall that stood between the village and the edge of the cliff before it looked back to Ben and shut its door. Furrowing his brows, Ben looked to where the creature had looked before saying a small, "Thanks, I guess," and heading towards it.

This hut was indistinguishable from all the rest, curtains drawn over its high windows, door made of solid metal, and dome shaped just the same. Grabbing the door handle, Ben didn't waste time knocking and simply tried to enter. To his surprise, the door opened with ease and let him into the dimly lit structure.

It was small, with a fireplace opposite to the doorway, a bed to the left of it, and a table to the right. The floor was exposed stone, and placed around the room were a few personal belongings. A pile of clothes near the bed, books on the table, a silver Mandalorian helmet next to the fireplace, some tools next to the door; but Ben didn't see a lightsaber anywhere in sight.

Luke was sitting at the table, head buried in his arms as he leaned over, not even flinching when the door was opened. He was lost in thought, lost in his grief as he wallowed over the past. Ben stared, jaw clenching tight as he thought over what to say. Clearly, Luke wasn't about to make the first move. He wasn't even sure if his uncle had noticed him.

"Palpatine's returned." Ben said bluntly after a long period of silence. This caught Luke's attention. The older man shifted, slowly raising his head and turning towards the direction of Ben, though his eyes were focused on the ground.

"W-What?" Luke's voice cracked, stomach churning. The claim was so absurd that he wasn't even sure he had heard it right.

"You heard me," Ben took a step into the hut, "Palpatines' come back."

Luke's eyes snapped up to look at his nephew, a grave expression plastered on his face. "How do you know?"

"Your father," Ben replied factually. He was again trying to distance himself emotionally, "He came to me as a Force ghost, told me everything. It's thanks to him I'm even standing here at all," Luke squinted a bit at his words, as if this information took a great deal of effort to process.

Drawing in a deep breath, Luke slowly moved to his feet. The information that the Emperor had returned was huge, but something in him knew he couldn't continue the conversation without trying to make amends first, "Ben..." he began, and Ben felt his whole body tense, "I am sorry-"

"This again?" His nephew scoffed.

"Please. Just… Let me finish," Luke pleaded. Ben, glancing away for a moment, let out a sigh before nodding slowly, giving his uncle permission to continue, "You're right. I have been a coward. I was a coward the whole time. Afraid to mess up, afraid to not live up to my legend, afraid to fail. And with my cowardice, I caused the very things I feared to come true. I was scared of you. Since the moment you arrived at the temple, I was terrified of failing Leia and Han-" Ben glanced away for a moment at the name, " -Failing you, but all I cared about then was the galaxy and how it would view me. And the stronger you became, the more of a threat I viewed you as. And the night it happened, I looked inside your mind. I saw destruction and pain at the end of everything I loved and, in my arrogance, I thought I could stop you. In that moment, you were no longer my nephew, but a conduit for the dark side, and-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Ben snapped suddenly. Luke had been so caught up in his words and hadn't noticed how distraught Ben had looked. Pursing his lips, Luke sighed. This moment had lingered on his mind for years, the opportunity to speak to his nephew once more, to say everything he'd ever thought since that night.. But not once did he consider how Ben would take it, and he cursed himself to his pride once more.

"What I'm trying to say is that I did wrong by you. For the longest time, I never understood why you would turn, but I finally understand. In my need to control your power, I infantilized you, created an environment that suppressed you. I pushed you away, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. The pain, the suffering, all of it."

There was silence as Luke finished. Ben stared at him almost dumbfounded. This clearly wasn't an apology for Ben's sake, no. Luke had just gone on some tirade about his mistakes, expecting Ben to turn around and forgive him after some sob story about how he was too weak not to push his only nephew away. And Ben understood. He understood where Luke was coming from, understood what Anakin had asked him to. Yet understanding didn't make up for any of it. The lasting pain of it all still lingered over him like a shadow, and Luke would have to do more than say sorry to disperse it. Blinking a few times, Ben drew in a breath, "Do you feel better now?" He asked in a condescending tone.

"What?" Luke asked, confusion running over his expression. While Luke hadn't expected Ben to cave and forgive him right away, he certainly hadn't been expecting a retort.

"Do you. Feel better. Now?" Ben repeated, slower this time, "Or do you have to derail the conversation on another tirade about how you failed me? Do I get to chime in next time with the bits of trauma that you missed?" He was being snarky, clearly tired of this exchange, "I tell you Palpatine has come back, and instead of addressing it, you go on some long winded apology, if you could call it that, just to make yourself feel better."

"That's not-"

"Not what you meant by it? It sure felt like it was." Ben interrupted before Luke had a chance to finish.

"If Palpatine is really back like you say he is, we'll need to work together. I said what I needed to get off my chest, what I thought would help you feel better working with me," Luke said, furrowing his brows. Ben tsked at his words and looked away in disbelief, "I don't expect you to forgive me-"

"Because I won't. And I don't want to 'work with you'. My whole goal in coming here was to bring you back to Mom," Ben restated, taking a step forward, "She wants you, not me."

Luke gave him a look. "Be reasonable. You and I both know that to defeat the Sith, there needs to be Jedi to do so."

"And what if I don't want to be a Jedi?" Ben asked, and Luke went silent, "No one ever asked what I wanted to be. And the one person who did used me for my power. What if I wanted to be a senator like Mom? What if I wanted to be a pilot like Han?" Luke squinted at Ben's avoidance of the word 'Dad', but he let Ben continue, "What if I wanted to be something entirely different?" Ben scoffed, "But I can't be. I will never be able to be anything but someone else's pawn," Luke tried to open his mouth to say something, but Ben held up a hand, "No. You have no idea the pressure on my shoulders, the details of the situation that's really happening. It's all my responsibility now. Nothing I've ever done was ever truly my choice, and now I have to suffer with all of it."

Ben could feel his chest tightening. He was frustrated by everything. It was maddening that the actions he had to atone for only happened because others had driven him to them. No one cared about him like Snoke had, and when Ben had done the irreversible, that friendship was set on fire. Practically his whole life he'd felt alone, and now more than ever. Expectations and purpose and destiny was his only company now, and he was in agony. He didn't even get a day to breathe, being thrust into one emotionally exhausting situation after the next.

"You don't have to do this alone, for what it's worth," Luke finally broke the silence, though his tone was hesitant, "I'm going to step up, I'm going to fight, and when I can handle it on my own, you can choose what you want to do with your life. Until then, we both have mistakes in our lives we have to make up for, and you're currently in a far more knowledgeable position than I am. I need you to help me understand. And when this is all over, you'll never have to do anything you don't want to again."

For once during his whole time on Ach-To, Ben felt some kind of solace. Luke's words, while he hated the fact they were coming from his uncle, were comforting. It was like Luke understood him, understood his struggle, understood his trauma. It was the first moment that he felt like Luke may actually grasp what the right thing to do was for him, and not for selfish reasons. Slowly, Ben nodded. "Fine".

"Good..." Luke said, turning and moving back to the table and taking a seat on the stool that he had been sitting on before. Looking at Ben, he drew in a deep breath, "So. Are you ready to talk?"

Ben looked at him hesitantly. Glancing around the room, he realized the stool his uncle took was the only place to sit besides the bed. Awkwardly, he moved in front of Luke and kneeled on the ground, sitting on his feet. There was silence now as he tried to collect his thoughts, trying to figure out what to say first. And despite everything he could say about Starkiller, about Rey or the First Order, about Anakin, his mind kept traveling to Han. It lingered over him like a storm cloud that was ready to strike him with lightning at any moment. His heart clenched tightly at the idea of saying it out loud, especially to someone who had absolutely no clue of Han's presence in the force.

Shifting slightly, Ben clenched his fists on his knees and closed his eyes. After milling over the subject of his father for a moment, he realized he couldn't bring himself to say it, not yet. Instead, he opted to start somewhere more palatable, "Palpatine. I hadn't known he was behind everything until Anakin finally broke through to me," he started, looking up at Luke, "He's behind Snoke, he was behind the voice of Darth Vader I used to hear, all of it. The planet, Exegol," Luke leaned in at the name, "That's where he is."

Luke nodded. "I tried to search for it once-"

"I know. Anakin told me." Ben interrupted and Luke frowned a bit.

"Did he tell you I couldn't find it?"

"Yes." Ben said bluntly

Nodding, Luke drew in a breath. "It's good you're not with the First Order anymore. It means we have the upper hand. Without an apprentice, the Sith's defenses are weaker."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ben said, "There's someone else. A girl from Jakku. I was trying to locate a map to you. A droid had the last part of it and was lost on Jakku. The next thing I knew, it had been reported that some girl was working with Han and a First Order traitor. We intercepted them on Takodana, and that's where I captured this girl. I interrogated her, looked into her mind…" his words trailed off and he drew in a breath, "She's powerful, Luke. Immensely so. It was only later when Anakin spoke to me did I understand why. Her name is Rey. She's Palpatine's granddaughter."

Luke's expression fell and he sat back, running a hand down his beard in shock. "He has a granddaughter?" He asked in disbelief.

At this, Ben nodded. "Apparently. I tried to talk to her… But she tried to kill me and then ran off into the woods."

"On what planet?"

Ben looked away with an ashamed look in his eyes, "Ilum. The First Order turned it into a weapon, though. Like the Death Star, but bigger. And much stronger"

If Luke's face could fall anymore, it did in that moment. "Was it used?"

Ben went silent, eyes glued to his hands as he held his breath. After a moment, he gave a small nod, "The New Republic is gone. Along with the Hosnian system."

Luke felt his stomach drop, "The… The whole system?" He muttered in horror. Ben only nodded, unable to look up. While Starkiller wasn't his project, he had enabled it. And his guilt was immense just thinking about it. There was silence as Luke tried to process this, but it was too much for his brain to handle emotionally on top of everything else, "Is it still operational?"

"No. The Resistance managed to blow it up. I escaped the surface, and I believe Rey did too. I have no idea where she could have gone, though she may already be in the hands of the First Order." Ben explained.

Luke leaned forward now, elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He was overwhelmed, and he took this silence to process all the information. Starkiller, the death of the New Republic, the destruction of Ilum, Palpatine, a secret granddaughter; it was all so much. But he found his mind traveling back to Anakin. Lifting his head so his chin sat in one of his hands, he raised his eyebrows softly, "How did Anakin speak to you?" He asked, and Ben looked up, "I mean, I know you said he came to you as a Force ghost, but why then? Why hasn't he come sooner? So much could've been avoided..."

Ben felt his chest tighten at the question, and a shiver ran up his body as he thought on his answer. "He said Palpatine was shutting him out, keeping him away from me."

Luke nodded slightly. "That makes sense. But what changed? Why would Palpatine suddenly let him in?"

Ben looked down at his hands again, knowing full well the answer to the question. His stomach churned painfully. He had no idea how Luke was going to take the information, but he knew the small amount of peace they had finally found in each other's company would surely be shattered, "It wasn't his choice..." Ben started, and at his grave tone, Luke was positive he wasn't going to enjoy his nephew's next words, "I… Did something…" he gulped back the lump in his throat, "The decision tore me apart, leading Anakin to be able to come through."

Despite seeing that Ben was trying to escape the actual topic, Luke decided to press the issue. This was the most dismissive Ben had been the whole time he'd been on Ach-To; he had to be hiding something he didn't want Luke to know. Shifting forward, Luke stared at his nephew. "What did you do?"

At the direct question, Ben felt tears well back up in his eyes. He looked away now to the wall, lips pursed tightly together in an attempt to hold his composure. He could feel his uncle's eyes boring holes into him, putting pressure on him and it made the whole situation worse. Shaking his head slowly, he desperately wanted to move on from this.

Suddenly, the light that filtered in from the open door was blocked, causing Luke's attention to refocus on the door. Standing in the doorway, Chewbacca peered inside curiously before looking at the two before him.

"Chewie?" Luke asked, the first hopeful sounding glint in his tone, "What're you doing here?" Before Chewbacca could answer, R2D2 pushed past the Wookie and into the room. Seeing his droid, Luke stood up and approached, taking a knee and wrapping his arms around him, "R2!"

The droid beeped happily back at him.

"It's good to see you," Luke said with a gentle smile before standing and looking at Chewie, "And you."

"(It's good to see you too.)" Chewbacca answered.

Ben hadn't moved. His eyes had fluttered closed as he listened to the other three's interaction with baited breath. He knew what question was coming next.

Looking between R2 and Chewbacca, Luke raised a brow. "Where's Han? Is he with you, too?"

The room went deadly silent, and Ben felt a few tears escape down his cheeks. At the question, he felt like he was going to puke. No one made a move to answer Luke's question, and the silence was becoming unbearable.

When no answer came, Ben could suddenly feel holes boring into him from Luke's eyes, who had adjusted to look back at his nephew now. Noticing the glint of tears on Ben's cheeks, his closed eyes, his bowed head; Luke felt panic creep up inside him.

"Ben…" Luke started, though any tones of chivalry were gone, replaced by ice and cold, "What did you do?"

Ben could feel everyone staring at him, the world crushing in on him with each passing second of silence. It was suffocating, unbearable, gut wrenching. Tears slipped down his cheeks without his control as he slowly shook his head, lips starting to move as if they wanted to say something but nothing came out.

"What. Did. You. Do?!" Luke demanded harshly, moving from R2 and down to one knee in front of his nephew, desperation in his actions.

Ben flinched in on himself, shaking his head violently before drawing enough courage to shoot up to his feet and with eyes glued to the ground, he pushed past Chewbacca and out of the hut without another word. He knew he couldn't bare to answer Luke's question.