AN: Hey guys, told you I'd go back to my regular schedule. I'll try not to do anything like that again. The last thing I want is to make you guys feel that I abandoned this. (And I'd never do that, I always finish what I start. :D) Anyway, let's get back to it.
I'd like to thank Blake2020 for adding me to your favorite authors list, favoriting the story, adding this to your story alerts, and adding me to your author alerts. It means a lot so thanks!
SaintsFan1- Thanks! It's good to be back as well. So glad that I was able to hear from you this chapter, I was starting to get nervous when I wasn't getting any feedback from anybody after several hours. Good to hear that you liked the last chapter that much. Yeah Rey didn't really seem to have any problems with navigating the cave as much as others. Even though it did take awhile she did good all things considering. I'm glad that you liked the conversation between Obi-wan and Maul. I wanted her to eventually speak to her relatives and this was a pretty good situation to do that in. Good to see that you liked how they were encouraging to her, I would think that they'd be proud of what she has become. And Obi-wan is a pretty understanding guy, so I think he'd go along with her transition pretty well, and Maul is obviously happy that she's following in his footsteps. You'll find out what happens with Kylo in this chapter, and he isn't really all that concerned about the crystal unless she couldn't get it or something bad happened to her. She will construct her saber in this chapter, so you won't have to wait long. Thanks again for reviewing!
Blake2020- Thanks, glad to hear it! Thanks for the review!
Let's get back to the story.
Chapter 31
Kylo impatiently waited outside the cavern waiting for Rey. He knew she could handle herself but he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in there. When he went to get his crystal he had to overcome one of his worse fears and conquer his past. He thought about what happened all those years ago.
He had entered a dangerous section of the cave and the icicles and rocks were unsteady. He almost caused it to cave in twice, while trying to avoid not being impaled or crushed from falling objects. When he felt he was in the clear his crystal began to call to him, so he naturally followed it's pull.
When he'd found it he was going to take it when some sort of illusion appeared in front of it, blocking him. It was Darth Vader and his parents. Vader was beginning to choke him, saying that he wasn't worthy of being related to him. That he'd never be a Sith and that he was destined to fail. After struggling to breath for several minutes he decided to fight back.
Kylo had summoned all of his power in the force and attacked the image, he had managed to defeat it, luckily before he stopped breathing. Although it was just an illusion, he was actually being choked to death. When the image of his grandfather faded, his parents were left.
Han had scolded him like when he was a child, while occasionally slapping and hitting him if he wasn't responding. When Kylo was younger he would often misbehave, most of the time it was just to have fun. But his father didn't approve, thinking that his actions were being influenced by Snoke. He would slap him across the face when he'd deny it, along with occasionally hitting him on his arm or stomach. The second part started happening when he was older, but he could still remember the pain. Han told him that he was a disgrace to the Solo name, that he'd never be a pilot, and that if he didn't join the Light Side he'd forever be cast out. After tolerating the blows given to him Kylo grabbed Han's wrist before it could land another. It was his turn to beat him up, all the while yelling at the top of his lungs saying that he was worthy and that he could make his own decisions. The image of Han eventually faded and his mother was the last image in front of him.
She was pleading for him to come back and when he refused she began to raise her voice. She'd told him that he was letting his family down and that if he continued down this path he'd never come back to her. And that Vader was not who he should look up to, that it was Luke. She'd begun to cry and beg for him to come home. But he confronted her and shot her down, he used the force to push all of his pain on her until she disappeared as well.
He'd felt relieved that he was able to successfully face his fears and retrieve his crystal. He could only imagine what Rey was experiencing.
After quite a long time he began to pace while waiting for her to exit the cave. He suddenly heard footsteps approaching and he turned and saw Rey leaving the cave. She approached him with a smile on her face. "Well how did it go?"
"I got my crystal!"
"Excellent. What happened to you in there?"
"You won't believe this, but I talked to force ghosts."
"Really? Are you sure they weren't illusions?"
"Positive. They told me that they were."
"I see. Who were they?"
"It was Obi-wan Kenobi and Darth Maul."
"What?! Rey that's amazing!" Although he was happy for her, he couldn't help but wonder why his grandfather never appeared in front of him.
"I know!"
"What did they say?"
"That they've been watching over me and are proud of what I've become. Maul said that I'll become a powerful Sith if I stick to this path."
"That's amazing. What about your grandfather? He couldn't be happy about this."
"Surprisingly he was. He said that it was my destiny."
"I see. I wish I could speak to my grandfather at least once, or maybe another powerful Sith."
"So you've never experienced anything like that before?"
"No. Unless you somehow count my experience when retrieving my crystal."
"What happened?"
"Well, an illusion of Darth Vader appeared blocking my crystal and if I didn't confront my fear about never being as strong as him, I wouldn't be here." He left out the part about his parents, he didn't want Rey to know about that.
"I see. Well now I have this over you as well." Kylo rolled his eyes, even though she couldn't see it.
"Uh huh, sure Rey. Come on and board the ship. You must be cold."
"Now that you mention it I am. But this outfit definitely makes me warmer."
"Aren't you glad I gave it to you?"
"Yeah. All I need is a helmet to keep my face warm."
"I don't think you're ready for that. Besides I can't really picture you in a helmet."
"True. But I bet when people see your face they don't imagine you wearing a helmet either."
"Maybe not, but I can pull off wearing one."
"Yeah. Can we go inside now, I'm starting to get really cold."
"Sure." They went into the ship and Kylo took off his helmet when they entered the cockpit. Rey followed him in and waited for her next instructions.
"So now what?"
"Now you have to attune it to the force."
"What do you mean? I thought that it already was."
"Yes, but it allows it to connect with you if that makes any sense."
"Yeah no. That make no sense at all." He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to find a way to explain it.
"Alright. Basically you act as if you're meditating and you have the crystal in front of you. You use the force to surround it and have it become attuned with the force and with you."
"How do I know if it's done?"
"The crystal will be floating and when you feel it begin to slowly drop down to the floor you stop."
"Oh alright. How long will it take?"
"I don't know. Maybe a few hours or a few days."
"A few days?!"
"Relax, mine only took 6 hours."
"Gee that helps. I guess I better get started."
"Go in the back so you can concentrate. I'll stay up here."
"And what will you be doing?"
"Well I'll be checking the ship, making sure that it's operational. And maybe I'll take a nap."
"Really? A nap?"
"What? I don't really get to sleep in."
"Whatever. I'll see you in a few hours, and hopefully not in a few days." He watched her go into the back of the ship and when she was no longer in his sights he turned to the control panel.
He checked to make sure that everything was operational and that there weren't any problems with the hyperdrive. When that was done he checked on the supplies that he brought.
He stored them in a hidden compartment so that Rey couldn't find them. He had brought several lightsaber hilts and components so that Rey could construct her lightsaber herself. He hoped that it would be enough, he brought extras of everything because she was most likely going to make a double bladed one.
When he made sure that everything was accounted for he closed the compartment and went to get something to eat. He had brought food on board because he knew they wouldn't get back until late. He took what looked appetizing and went into the cockpit to eat it.
When he finished he reclined in his chair and drifted off to sleep. He had been wanting to get extra hours of sleep for awhile. He closed his eyes and went into a deep sleep. Rey would wake him up when she was done.
Rey had been focusing for 7 hours now and she still couldn't get the crystal to attune to the Force. She was beginning to get hungry, but she couldn't let her thoughts drift away.
Perhaps this was going to take days, but she didn't want it to. She wanted to build her lightsaber already. Not to mention finally get rid of the Resistance and kill Finn. She began to put more aggression into what she was doing as she thought about what the former stormtrooper had done to her.
Suddenly she felt something push out from the crystal and she immediately opened her eyes. She'd never felt power like that before. She watched as the crystal slowly descended onto the floor and when it landed she picked it up and looked at it.
It had a blueish glow to it. She had to admit it was quite breathtaking. She immediately got up and went into the cockpit.
As she entered the cockpit she saw Kylo completely passed out in his chair. She couldn't help but smile at his appearance. He looked so peaceful as he slept, his features were so relaxed and there was no stress at all. She moved a stray piece of hair away from his face and kissed his forehead. She decided to wait until he woke up, he needed the rest.
Her stomach growled and she seemed to recall Kylo bringing food on board. She searched for where he put it and when she found it she grabbed a handful of food, making sure to take some desert as well. She ate in silence and waited for Kylo to wake up.
After about a half hour Kylo finally stirred and he slowly opened his eyes. "Glad to see you're awake."
"How long have you been waiting for me?"
"I don't know. About a half hour."
"Oh, alright. So were you able to attune it to the force?"
"Yes. Can I make my lightsaber now?"
"Not yet, you have to make it bleed first."
"Oh come on. How long is that going to take?"
"That doesn't take long. You just use your anger and sort of attack the crystal with it. Using the force of course, you don't want to break it and get another one."
"No duh. Alright do I have to do the same thing that I just did?"
"You don't have to, but it helps."
"Fine." Rey sat down on the floor and set the crystal in front of her. She combined her anger with the force and pushed it on the crystal. It was fighting back but she put more of her darker emotions into her power. After a few minutes she was beginning to overwhelm the crystal.
It eventually stopped fighting back and soon enough she saw it turn blood red. "Excellent Rey."
"Yes! Now can I construct my lightsaber?"
"Yes of course you can." Kylo went to the compartment and pulled out all of the lightsaber parts and put it in front of her. "Alright I need you to picture what you want your lightsaber to look like. The length, the width, the weight, the color, the hilt, is it rough or smooth, the button positions, etc. It needs to be your vision."
"Got it."
"When you have what you want in mind. You pick out the parts and use the force to construct it. Your crystal will go into the saber itself. Do you understand?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Now get started." Rey closed her eyes and imagined what her lightsaber would look like. She saw it being the same length as her staff, it had a bit of weight to it but wasn't too heavy. She wanted to be able to wield it easily, the lighter it was would be better for her. She then saw that it had a silver color to it, the hilt was smooth and it was very shiny and had a good grip. She saw the buttons being close to the bottom so that they wouldn't be in the way of her hands. The width was skinny, she had small hands.
When she had what she wanted in mind she looked closely at what parts she needed. She opened her eyes and grabbed everything that she saw in her mind. When she was done she set everything in front of her and began to concentrate on the image in her mind.
She focused on controlling all of the parts with the force. When she realized where everything was supposed to go she put the parts together and let it drop into her hands when it was complete.
She stood up and tested how it felt in her hand. She didn't activate it yet. She wanted to make sure that she was comfortable with it. The hilt was about the same size as the one on her staff. She twirled it around a few times, she learned a few tricks with her staff, when she was done she put her hands in a comfortable position.
It felt a lot like her staff and she was definitely more comfortable with it. When she was satisfied she moved to turn it on when Kylo stopped her. "Not in the ship Rey. You'll turn it on outside."
"Ugh, fine." She followed him outside and they went to the clearing near the entrance of the cave.
"Alright turn it on." She did as she was told and when she pushed both buttons down she heard the recognizable sound of the blades. Within seconds there were two red blades on either side of her saber. The red glow was bright, but it was also still and perfect. She could feel the power coming from within and it made her more confident in her abilities.
She did the tricks that she did with her staff and it was as if she had used the weapon for years. She was a natural. She even put some of the lightsaber techniques that she learned into her test run.
It felt amazing in her hands and she didn't want to turn it off. She would need to learn to use it properly, but if it was anything like her staff than she shouldn't have a problem at all.
When she felt that she tested how it felt enough, she decided that it was time to test the blades. There was a large rock behind her, and it would be a great target. She attacked with one blade, then the other, and then with both. They cut it to perfection and she was beaming with pride. She had just constructed her own unique weapon that could kill someone within seconds.
When she felt that she had enough she deactivated it and put it on her belt. Kylo had been silent the whole time and she turned to see his reaction. "So what do you think? Did I do a good job?"
"You did an excellent job. It's perfect for you. There isn't a problem in sight. When you learn how to properly use it you'll be a killing machine."
"Perfect! Guess there's no turning back now."
"No way. So how does it feel?"
"It feels so powerful that I can't even describe it. Luke's lightsaber didn't feel anything like this."
"Of course not, because it wasn't yours. And I doubt that Luke felt the power either. He wasn't the one to construct it, Anakin did."
"Yeah I figured. I just can't believe that I made this."
"You're well on your way Rey, you better believe it. It looks amazing."
"Thanks. And I gotta admit I really like the red blades. But how come mine isn't crackling like your's?"
"Well I maybe, sort of, cracked my crystal. Therefore making it unstable and having it be the way it is."
"Oh okay. But your blade still looks pretty cool. It isn't common to see something like that, right?"
"Yeah."
"So in a way it kind of sets your lightsaber apart."
"Yeah I guess so." There was silence for a few moments before Kylo broke it. "So are you ready to go home?"
"Definitely. I can't wait to show my friends."
"Just don't kill anyone with it."
"I won't, I promise."
"I know. Hux was just concerned about that. You've seem to adopt some of my traits, along with Mauls."
"Yeah I know. But I won't kill anyone from the Order with it."
"Alright then. Let's go." The two went back onto the ship and went in their respective positions. Kylo started up the ship and took them back to the Finalizer.
AN: Hope you guys liked it. Rey finally made her lightsaber, yay! Sorry again for it being so short.
Feel free to review and let me know what you think.
Until the next chapter everyone, may the force be with you.