Nothing is Ever Truly Over
Chapter Seven
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Ben groaned as he rubbed his head. Everything hurt. Granted, he was used to pain, having felt some measure of it for pretty much his whole life, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. All he could do was do what he always did: deal with it.
For a moment, though, the pain abandoned him when he laid eyes upon a droid that distinctly reminded him of a pet. It stared back at him curiously.
And then he booped out a friendly greeting.
Ben was caught off-guard. He was almost immediately flung from the extreme of suffering perhaps the greatest pain he ever felt to a normal everyday situation. It was a juxtaposition that made him pause.
"Uh, hey… BD-1," he returned, only just remembering the name the droid introduced itself with. He then sat up, arms resting over propped knees. "I'm Ben."
BD-1 chirped an inquiry. Ben noted that this droid was quite energetic and positive.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just…" he paused, the memories of saving Rey and then watching as she gave into her Dark Side running through his head. "I just went through some stuff."
The exploration droid beeped an assuming question, one which left Ben a little confused and unaware of what it meant.
"Because your mistress resurrected me…?" He passed a curious look behind BD-1 where he saw two people – older people by what he could tell – lying in the sand unconscious. He nodded towards the woman in red. "Is that your mistress?"
The droid trilled an affirmative, then added some more beeps.
"And your master, too." Ben got up and began to approach them, but paused. "I'm going to try waking them up, okay?" he notified BD-1, to which the droid nodded and scampered behind the two.
Ben knelt beside them and brought a hand to each of their temples, calling upon the Force and sending the two one command: 'awaken.'
When Merrin opened her eyes, she was struck by an incredibly strong source of light first thing. She rubbed her eyes, momentarily blinded by it, before she was able to get a better look. The bright light came from the twin suns rising behind the man she had just restored to the living realm. It matched what she felt from him: such strong light. Despite being someone who had been living in agony until now, this man had so much light within him still.
"Are you okay?" he asked in a deep timbre that was, ironically, gentle. He offered two hands out to grab. It took a second before she registered that one was also for Cal, also awake and similarly transfixed with this man.
"Yes," she nodded. She and Cal both accepted the offer and the man pulled them both to their feet with ease. That was when she noticed just how large the man was: he was huge, built like a Nightbrother. It juxtaposed immensely with the gentleness the man showed them.
"Thanks for the help. But who are you people?" he asked.
"I'm Cal Kestis," Cal introduced himself. He then gestured to Merrin. "This is Merrin." He took a moment to really look at this man Merrin had resurrected. There was something about him that reminded him somewhat of Master Tapal. That feeling of a gentle giant. It was mostly because of his Master that Cal was not intimidated by those bigger than him. Here was no exception. "What's your name?"
'What's your name?' That question plagued Ben. He wasn't sure he knew. He didn't know whether to say Ben Solo or Kylo Ren. Where did he draw the line? Were they two different people like Rey seemed to believe? Or were they one and the same?
Regardless of whether or not they were one and the same, one thing he did know, was that as soon as he heard his Dyad say she wanted to take Ben's hand, he knew who he wanted to be.
"My name is Ben Solo," he replied. For the first time in years, he actually felt good about saying his true name.
He took a moment to inspect the two elders before him. Judging by their statures, he had the feeling they both were quite adventurous, especially Cal. Neither of them looked like they had settled down. He had seen the same look in his father when he was on that bridge in Starkiller.
Conversely, as he noticed how their hands seemed to naturally drift towards one another's, Ben could see a sense of content between them that he had never seen in his father, nor his mother. Even after living long lives, it seemed Cal and Merrin were both happy and had no regrets. Ben certainly could not say the same for his own parents.
He noticed much more than that, though. He took notice of the lightsaber hilt at Cal's side. It was interesting, Ben had to admit. Just from its construction it looked like it was two lightsabers put together to make one bigger weapon. "You're a Jedi, aren't you?"
Cal had anticipated that question. He took his lightsaber – made using parts from both Master Tapal's lightsaber as well as Cere's – and lit up both ends in answer. The two violet blades pierced the air with a sound that Ben would best describe as controlled chaos. It was quite a punch when the blades ignited. The sound they gave off radiated the power of the weapon, yet there was still control. A combination that fit in between the light and the dark.
When he took a closer look at Cal's Force signature, he realized that it was much the same. Though he was a Jedi, he also kind of liked to fight, and had no problem with killing, unlike most other Jedi he had heard of.
Cal soon retracted the blades and reset the hilt on his hip. He was curious, though, how Ben almost instantly knew. "You know about the Jedi?"
"I was one," Ben replied. Then shame befell his face. "Until I wasn't."
Cal sensed that he didn't want to talk about it right now, so he didn't prod further.
Ben then looked towards Merrin with something almost like awe. "You must be a Nightsister."
Merrin tilted her head sardonically and let her magick flare from her hand demonstratively, yet also threateningly. "Perhaps."
Ben seemed to realize he was a bit forward with her. "I'm sorry, I…" he fumbled around awkwardly for what to say. "I didn't mean offense, it's just… I've only ever heard tales about the Nightsisters and how different they were from other Force-users. I'm just fascinated, is all. I like to study all about the Force and all the different ways it can be used. And the magick – the Nightsisters' magick – what little I've heard about it sounds extremely interesting. Just the ability to teleport alone sounds amazing."
Merrin opened her mouth in surprise. She did not expect that. The last time someone showed interest in her and her magick was Cal, and before that, Malicos. Just off his appearance, she had expected Ben to desire her magick for power like Malicos had. But she was surprised to find out he was just genuinely curious and had an appetite for learning. She never expected such a hulking figure to be such a scholar.
"I believe that is yours," she somewhat clumsily jerked her head dumbfounded in the direction of the lightsaber in the sand. Ben had thrown her for such a loop that she didn't know how to respond. She had been socially awkward for a really long time, and though she was much better now, this time was one where that trait shined.
"Oh," Ben mumbled as he looked over where she had gestured.
He stuck his hand out, calling upon the Force and pulled the blade into his palm. In his massive hand, the hilt felt quite small. It made sense though, considering it was never made for him.
"It's not actually mine," he corrected absently as he thought about the lightsaber.
"It's hers," Cal's voice ripped his attention. He had this not-understanding yet understanding look at the same time. "The girl's."
A pang went through Ben's heart at the mention of Rey. He wasn't under disbelief that Rey had done what she did, but it still hurt all the same. He always thought Rey was so strong, maybe strong enough to resist the call. But even still, he knew the darkness was just lurking under the surface, and only required a little push to bring it out of her. She was like a ticking detonator: it was only a matter of time before she gave in.
"Not exactly," Ben muttered in return, rotating the lightsaber in his hand as he observed it. "I think it calls to someone else."
"Who?" Cal inquired.
"I don't know. All I know is the Force implored her to make it. She may have made it, but it never really called to her. Not like the first one she made." At Cal's inquisitive look, he spilled. "Hinged double-blade. Red. Cracked crystals. I remember she was so terrified of it that she locked it away in a box. Much like she did with the darkness in her. She always hid it away in the back of her mind."
The older Jedi remained silent for a moment digesting what he said. He nodded, understanding why the girl he saw was so vicious. She was practically destined for darkness. "I saw what happened. What she did."
Ben's focus swung around on Cal again at his words. "Wait, you saw what happened?" he questioned in disbelief.
In answer, Cal waved his right hand demonstratively. "Psychometry," he replied. "I saw it through an echo in the Force."
"Wow, you have that?" Ben was amazed at the fountain of knowledge these two turned out to be. "I heard it was a super rare ability, one that can't be learned."
"You'd be right. I was born with it." As great as it was to talk with someone familiar with the Jedi, Cal had to turn the conversation back on track. "I heard you, too, trying to get her to stop. I'm so sorry."
Ben looked down at the saber in his hand contemplatively. "It's fine. It was only a matter of time. She was always hot-tempered. The only reason she was on the Light Side for this long was because I was on the Dark Side. I was in the place that by all rights was meant to be hers."
Cal instantly grew a more wary look, but Merrin wasn't bothered. Rather, she was interested.
Ben looked up and noticed their looks, and figured he had to let the hypothetical tooka out of the bag. "For the last seven years, I was Kylo Ren."
He expected to be immediately cut down. He was under no impression that they hadn't at least heard of Kylo Ren, the Jedi Killer and Supreme Leader of the First Order. Surely he was a dead man now.
But it came as a shock to him when no such thing happened.
"Well you don't look like him anymore," Merrin observed, rather bluntly at that.
Cal quickly picked up on what she meant and nodded his agreement. Ben really reminded him of when he first met Merrin. She was his enemy at first, but then he realized she had a complicated past and his perception of her changed. He could see Ben was quite similar.
Ben picked apart her statement and ultimately got to what she really said: he wasn't Kylo Ren anymore, for better or worse. "I guess I don't," he muttered as he touched his face, the place his scar used to be.
"No, you don't," a new voice imbibed with youth yet wisdom echoed, making Ben quickly whirl around.
Three Force ghosts stood, backed by the light of the twin suns, all of which Ben recognized instantly.
Because they were all his family.
Anakin Skywalker, with Luke to his left and Leia to his right. His grandfather was always the most fascinating of the Jedi to Ben. He was always able to relate to his grandfather, even more so after finding out he was also Darth Vader. Both were fallen Jedi. Both had done the bidding of Palpatine, of the Dark Side. And both turned away from it in the end. And, if his young appearance was to be believed, both of them died young.
Of course, Ben knew that wasn't true as Anakin had lived on as Vader for another twenty-four years after the light in him died. But even then, he still recognized the overwhelming similarities they shared.
"Ben," Anakin continued, leaving his children's side to approach Ben, warm and inviting. "You brave, brave man."
Ben was unsure how to feel. One part of him felt humbled by his grandfather's praise, yet another wondered why he even bothered to praise him. He didn't feel like he was worthy of praise. "Why do you say that, grandfather?"
"Because you did what I could not." One of Anakin's hands came to rest on his shoulder. It felt warm, so unlike the cold he felt whenever he talked to Vader's helmet. "When faced with losing the woman you love, you didn't lose yourself. Furthermore, you saved her from death… something I failed to do with your grandmother."
He heard the regret in his voice at the end. His grandmother Padmé was never really talked about by his family. They never really knew her beyond what was fact. Hence, to hear about her at all had his attention. But hearing the shame in Anakin's voice as he talked about her revealed a lot that he didn't know. Even with just that little bit, he could already feel the pure love his grandfather felt for her. It was comparable to what he felt for Rey.
But Ben still didn't really understand why he was being praised. Why? He was nothing. He was insignificant. What did he do to earn such praise?
Anakin saw, and smiled sideways as he took a step back. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Certainly stronger than me."
"How?" Ben asked, incapable of understanding. "You defeated the Emperor. I couldn't. I was too weak."
"If it wasn't for you, Ben," Luke spoke up, "there would've been no stopping him. But you used the greatest power there is, and it defeated him."
"What power is that, uncle?" Ben asked doubtfully.
"Love," his uncle wisely replied. "Your love for Rey is what allowed her to stand up and defeat the Emperor. Without that, she would've fallen and become just like him."
Oh, the irony of those words. Ben was not egoistic, but he wasn't so humble as to not realize the role his disappearance played in Rey's fall. Without him there, her darkness had nothing to keep it in check.
"And that's exactly what happened," Ben apathetically said. "She has fallen."
Anakin and Luke were both thrown off a bit by Ben's callous outlook. "Yes, but you have returned to bring her back," Anakin countered optimistically.
Ben shook his head defeated. "You don't get it. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. I can feel how swamped she is in the Dark Side. She can't even feel me anymore. Otherwise she wouldn't have murdered Uncle Lando just to give herself power."
His voice broke at that. His Uncle Lando was gone, at the hand of the woman he loved. The Rey of light he knew was totally gone, and in her place was a Rey of darkness.
"Do you still think she will listen to me now?" He turned his back on his three Force-user family members. "It's hopeless to try and confront her."
As he walked off towards the homestead, Cal and Merrin stood off to the side. They both understood they had no place in this family affair, but by the Force they had quite the experience just observing. Even witnessing just one interaction they could tell this family was very interesting. Cal in particular found it interesting, as he recognized Anakin from the Clone Wars. He never knew the greatest of the Jedi Knights had a family. It did make him feel less like he had betrayed the Jedi Code, though, since he had also started a family.
Anakin, however, was annoyed at his grandson's apathy. He looked to his right, to his daughter, silently begging for her permission.
Leia sighed, already knowing what he was going to do. "Go ahead, father."
Anakin grabbed Ben with the Force and yanked him back against his will. Ben yelped in surprise before hitting the ground again. When he tried to get up, Anakin froze him on his knees.
"Do not walk away from your mother like that," he lowly scolded. Though his voice remained the same, his manner of speech shifted to that more threatening yet eloquent speech pattern he had developed as Vader.
Cal noticed Anakin's change of speech. It sounded different than he remembered, but at the same time, there was something about it that was so familiar as well. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, though.
Ben wanted to spit at his grandfather but at the same time his mother came forward. Then, all words left him.
How long had it been since he last saw his mother? He couldn't say exactly, but the difference between what he remembered and what stood before him now was great. His mother seemed so much frailer now, like her source of strength had left her. When he had last been with her, she just seemed to be this unstoppable force that could do anything.
Now, he had a good idea why she had changed so much: because he left. At first, he believed it was just weakness on her part, but now, he understood it was because he was her source of strength, and without him, she wasn't the same.
"Mom," he mumbled, a sob ready to rip loose.
"Ben." Her voice was just as warm and comforting as he remembered it was years ago. It caused a few tears to leak out of his eyes.
"I… Mom, I… I'm sorry…"
Leia ran her hands through her son's hair, gently pulling him into an embrace. It was the only way she could hug him in a way in which neither had to strain themselves, as he was just too tall and she too short.
"My son," she whispered as her hands soothingly ran through his dark locks. "I already forgave you."
Ben's arms came up around her to return the embrace. All the emotions he had withheld all these years came tumbling out, and he buried his face into her stomach, just letting it all out. It didn't even register with him that Anakin had released the freeze he had on him. He just wanted the warmth of his mother.
"If anything, I'm the one who's sorry for never being there for you, and for sending you away." Leia bent down to plant a soft kiss on his forehead. Ben could feel the warmth coming from it ."I should've listened to what you wanted. I shouldn't have let my fears take control of me."
"I acted on my fears, too," Luke said. Ben let his mother go, and she took a step back. "And I paid for it dearly. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I lit my lightsaber that night. I can only hope you can forgive me, Ben."
Ben could hear the regret in his uncle's voice. He was angry with him before, but now, seeing with clarity again, he only had one question. "Why did you? What made you so afraid?"
"There's one thing that scared me more than anything, Ben. That was the Emperor. The time I was with him, I was so certain I was going to die. There was nothing I could do to save myself, and that, Ben, was what made him so frightening. So when I saw Snoke in your head, I was stunned by just how much he felt like the Emperor."
Ben wasn't sure if Luke knew the truth that Snoke was a servant of Palpatine, but with hindsight and Luke's explanation, he could now understand why he reacted the way he did. Seeing something that was so reminiscent of his greatest fear must've messed him up a lot.
"… And because of that, I acted rashly." The remorse Luke showed made Ben feel a little bad about being so angry at him. Even though he had a right to be, he now realized Luke must've hated himself more.
"We've all made our mistakes, Ben," his grandfather re-entered, speaking like Anakin again. "Me most of all. And I'm so sorry for what I unfairly put on you. My actions have put a stain on our whole family. My mistakes should never have been put on your shoulders. Everything that happened to you was because of my own legacy, a legacy you should've never had to bear."
Anakin then reached out with his hand. Out of the sand came flying two lightsabers. He recognized them both as one landed in Anakin's palm. The other, which his grandfather levitated for Leia to take, was his mother's lightsaber. He rarely saw her with it, but it was one reason she seemed so unstoppable.
In his grandfather's hand, was the saber. The lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker, passed down from generation to generation. The lightsaber he once foolishly claimed belonged to him on Starkiller.
And his grandfather extended it out to him in offering.
"Take it," he insisted. "Take it and do what you believe is right. That's what I thought of when I built it. And that's the legacy I want for whoever wields it." The look in his grandfather's eye was so understanding, something Ben had come to find was a common occurrence between them. "I know you, Ben. You've always wanted to do what you believed was right. Take this, and do it." Then, as if he had read his grandson's mind, "You are worthy."
Ben slowly stood back up. After an internal debate on whether or not he should, he hesitantly accepted the weapon he had believed himself unworthy of. Even though he had wielded it previously on Exegol when he came to save Rey, it was still surreal to him that he was holding it. When it refused to come to him on Starkiller, he felt so unworthy and incapable. But now, he felt so much more in-tune with it. He still held doubts, and he wasn't even sure he even wanted to face Rey as she was now. But he didn't feel as hopeless as he did before.
Leia huffed. "You stole my idea," she pouted at her father.
Anakin shot a boyish smirk at her. "Let's just say that part of you came from me."
"Liar. We all know it came from mother."
Anakin chuckled as he stepped aside for Leia to approach her son.
"Take it," she passed her lightsaber to him. He took it. "As a reminder that I'm always with you, Ben. And don't feel like you have to do anything you don't want to do."
Ben felt confused. The way he saw it, his mother was advising him to do the opposite of what his grandfather advised him. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, partly because he wanted to please her, and partly because he was curious about what she wanted for him.
She smiled at him warmly and let her hand drift to his face, her motherly touch tracing its features. "Go home," she simply said.
Ben blinked. He didn't expect such a simple desire. "Home?" he repeated, baffled.
She nodded. "Go home."
After thinking about what she could possibly mean, it clicked. But he hesitated. He wasn't sure he should. It had been so long since he'd been home. It had been decades.
Anakin caught his hesitation. "You would be wise to surrender to your mother's wishes," he intervened, a warning undertone in his voice.
'You would be wise to surrender.' Cal's eyes shot open in haunting realization. He had heard those words before, a long time ago, from a man in a suit. From Darth Vader.
"It was you."
Everyone turned to Cal as soon as he spoke.
"You were the man in the suit."
Anakin realized he was the one being referred to. "Do I know you?" he questioned with a touch of concern.
"The Fortress, fifty years ago." The hate in his voice was prevalent. Cal stepped forward, pulling his lightsaber and igniting the two purple blades. "The day you killed the Second Sister – Trilla Suduri – for failing you. The only reason I'm still alive after facing you is because she," he nodded back to Merrin, "pulled me out of the water."
Nobody interfered, the Skywalkers because they knew their main patriarch would not raise a hand against a stranger now, and Merrin because she was still somewhat in a suspended state of shock. She had no idea what was happening. But at the same time, she trusted Cal.
The recognition soon dawned in Anakin's eyes. It had been a long time indeed since that day. No longer was Cal the same red-headed teenager who dared to face him even when it was obvious he would not win. But the moment he lit up two purple blades he recognized him. He felt shame for being reminded of that time of his life.
"Why did you do it?" Cal interrogated. The harshness in his voice grew. "Why did you betray the Jedi – betray us – and kill us all?! Why did you torture us into madness and make us into your puppets?! WHY?!"
Anakin lowered his head in shame of all those heinous acts he had committed. He now remembered the Second Sister – Trilla Suduri, he corrected himself; she deserved to be remembered for her true self – with clarity. He remembered how his overwhelming darkness had utterly terrified her. She was quaking in her boots when he stalked up behind her. She was like a little girl scared of the monster under the bed. In that case, the monster was him.
"I thought I was doing what I had to do to save my wife," he explained regretfully. "But after that, there is no excuse. I just did not care anymore after she died. I lost myself completely and did terrible, terrible things." He ruefully looked into Cal's angry eyes. "And I know there is nothing I can do to make that right. For that, I'm so sorry."
Cal didn't know what to do. He was still angry, but he just couldn't bring himself to take action. Something held him back. Maybe it was the genuine remorse he saw in him.
"I beg of you, do not put your anger on Ben. He doesn't deserve it. Hate me all you want. But don't judge him for my actions."
Cal wanted to hold onto his anger at Anakin – he rightfully deserved it – but he understood the point he was making. He came here to help Ben. He should not be angry at him for something his grandfather did a long time ago. He could not change the past. He had to move on.
With a last angry huff out of his nose, Cal sheathed his lightsaber and turned around, walking away. "I'll get the ship," he muttered to Merrin as he passed her, headed for the speeder they arrived in.
BD-1 looked between his two masters. Merrin tilted her head in Cal's direction, silently commanding the droid to go with him. He obliged, though the normal joy he displayed at going with Cal was tampered down with the weight of what they just uncovered.
As Cal and BD-1 sped off, Anakin looked to Ben. "I brought a change of clothes here just before the Clone Wars started." He passed a look over his grandson's attire, most notably the hole in his shirt. "You look like you could use it."
Ben looked at his grandfather oddly – the suggestion was a little out of the blue – but went into the homestead anyways.
Anakin looked to Merrin apologetically. "Sorry for…" He awkwardly gestured towards where Cal had walked away. "… all that."
The Nightsister held up a hand, stopping him. "Apology accepted. We cannot change the past."
Anakin nodded in understanding. He knew that lesson better than anyone.
"Leia, what are you up to with Ben?" he heard Luke ask his sister. "Why are you sending him there?"
He turned upon word of their little disagreement. It reminded Anakin of a point he wanted to make. "Yeah, Leia. Why are you advising him to do the opposite of what we need him to do? I don't know if you realized, but the galaxy is on the verge of another dark age."
"Luke, Father," Leia interrupted them with a steely undertone. Her eyes held theirs resolutely. "Trust me."
Luke nodded his acceptance. He trusted Leia more than he trusted anyone else.
Anakin, however, took longer to come around. When he did, he shot her a warning look. "This better work."
"It will," Leia's voice suggested no betrayal of confidence. She was sure her plan would work. "No one is ever really gone. You both taught me that."
When Ben came back, it was with a bag over his shoulder. He found it and placed everything he had in it, including the change of clothes and the three lightsabers he now had.
Over the horizon, everyone could see as Cal returned with the S-161 Stinger XL he and Merrin now owned, christened as the Mantis. As he came in to land the ship, Cal didn't bother shutting down the engines as he was under the impression they would take off immediately. Hence, behind the ship, the three engines kicked up a cloud of sand.
"Ben! One last thing before you go!" Anakin had to shout to be heard over the roar of the engines.
Grandson turned to face grandfather. Anakin took a short moment to revel in how much he had grown, even from a short while ago. Ben truly was everything Anakin had tried to be, and it made him so proud.
"When you get your head straight," Anakin pointed to his head as he said that, "there's someone who wants to talk to you!"
Ben's eyebrows furrowed. "Who?!" he shouted back.
Anakin grinned. "You'll like her! She's like a sister to me!"
Ben had done plenty of research on his grandfather, so he knew who he was talking about. There was only one person who fit that description of being like a sister to him.
"And remember, Ben: you're stronger than you give yourself credit for!"
To hear that praise again… He still didn't quite know how to take it, but he didn't reject it outright.
"Ekh! Davay!" he heard Merrin yell at him from the top of the ship's ramp, gesturing to him to come on. He did study Dathomirian, so he understood her, but it did take a minute to process since this was pretty much the first time he actually heard it spoken. Considering she reverted to her native tongue, though, he thought maybe she was getting a bit impatient.
With a final nod of acknowledgment to Anakin, he prepared to head up the ramp.
"Ben!" his mother's voice stopped him at the top of the ramp. "Remember: no one is ever really gone!"
The dual layers of that statement were immediately recognized by Ben. She meant himself as well as Rey. If he was never truly lost to the darkness, then that also meant Rey was still there somewhere under all that darkness. He still had his doubts about that, but his mother did inspire a little bit of hope in him. She was pretty good at that.
He smiled, truly smiled at her, and gave a final nod to his mother, memorizing the warmth in her eyes and just how bright she was in the light.
He then entered the ship. The ramp pulled up and the door shut. Then, the ship kicked up a dust storm as it lifted off the ground, landing gear pulling up and the mechanical transformation of its outboard engine and stabilizer into the flight position, and then took off into the light of the suns.
Anakin had his arms around both his children's shoulders as they serenely watched their last remaining family head off into the light once more. With that, their work was done. Together, they faded back into the Force.
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"So, where are we going?" Cal asked Ben as he piloted the ship out of Tatooine's atmosphere. Merrin, now having taken off her cloak, let her hand trail over his shoulder lovingly as she sat down in the copilot's seat.
Ben was at the holotable just behind the cockpit. He was searching for his destination with it. BD-1 was perched on the table edge, his favorite spot. He was also curious about the newcomer Ben. Where would he take them?
Finally, Ben found the planet he was looking for, and selected it. "Home," he replied simply to Cal's inquiry.
Cal looked at the screens, and something familiar niggled his brain when he saw the destination Ben had selected. "Huh, I think I've heard of there before."
With that, he reached up and pushed the hyperdrive lever forward. In a blur of stars, they all shot away into hyperspace.
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Good God, was this chapter hard on me! Anyways, we have Ben finally say something other than "Ow," he and the Mantis crew meet, we have a heartfelt Skywalker family reunion, a revelation that brings back unpleasant memories for Cal, and Ben setting out and leaving Tatooine with the Mantis crew. Their destination, though, remains a mystery.
Unless, of course, you know everything about Ben. Then you should be able to figure out where they're heading.
This took a while because I really wanted to get Ben perfect. And that's hard to do considering he's already perfect. But, yeah. I wanted to get all the interactions right, too, because there was a LOT to unpack here.
I called back a lot to Jedi: Fallen Order here, and with that, I had to give an honorable mention to Trilla Suduri – the Second Sister – my favorite character in the game. I don't know, I guess I just really like those types of dark, complex characters. And Trilla checked off an extra box for me by being a dark female character. I just have a thing for dark female characters. It's why I love the Dark Rey stuff.
Now, about Cal's lightsaber. I just never customized it besides selecting the purple blade. It's because I found the saber and how it's modified over the course of the game to tell a story all in itself, and I found such a beauty in it that I didn't want to change it. I chose purple for the reasons outlined in the story. He's a Jedi that kind of likes the thrill of a fight, so I thought that put him in the middle somewhere between light and dark. To me, purple represents that in-between status.
Anyways, if you enjoyed, then follow and fave and feel free to tell me why in a review! And a small question to end with for those who have seen The Clone Wars as well as the prequels: When you read Anakin in a story, do you hear Matt Lanter or Hayden Christensen? For me, it depends on the time frame. Within the Clone Wars, I hear Matt. But before or after, I hear Hayden.