The Rise of Skywalker, a controversial take from a die hard fan

by Agag-ris

The Rise of Skywalker, and the sequel trilogy, divided most of the Star Wars fan base. This story is but a rough take on how this movie should, and could, have been. Controversial decisions were made, please be kind. Thank you.

This was what I hoped for with The Rise of Skywalker:

(Opening crawl)

Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the FIRST ORDER, continues to ravage the galaxy, intent on destroying the RESISTANCE and the JEDI. As she continues to learn the ways of the FORCE through Leia, Rey is the only hope left for PEACE and JUSTICE.

On the forest moon of ENDOR, the grave of the lethal SECOND DEATH STAR, a tremor in the FORCE has been sensed by the two young warriors, calling them to it. Within the shattered station structure remains a foreboding presence, a mystery unknown.

This is the close. The war between the FIRST ORDER and the RESISTANCE; the JEDI and the SITH; GOOD and EVIL is coming to an end...

(Sequence of events, 3 years after TLJ)

I

Above and on the forest moon of ENDOR, the RESISTANCE and its sympathizers fight the FIRST ORDER, each unable to make headway. Capital ships and fighters from both sides increase the death toll, while soldiers and encampments surround the remains of the fallen DSII superlaser shell. General Leia Organa leads the Resistance on the ground, while Supreme Leader Kylo Ren commands his navy, unable to penetrate their mobile deflector shield for orbital bombardment.

Jedi Knight Rey, having been trained in the FORCE by the ghost of Luke Skywalker and Organa, weaves through FO entrapments and their front lines, intent on reaching the innards of the fallen battle station. Ren, through the bond drawn by his former master Snoke, senses the Jedi and her intentions, prompting him to make land immediately.

As Rey scales the remains of the superlaser, echoes of the FORCE draw her to the remains of an Imperial throne room. Touching the railing, visions of her former master raging against his infamous father startle her. The cackling of a hooded figure causes Rey to feel anger, she reaches for her LIGHTSABER, igniting it.

The saber, forged back together following her training by Organa, spits out a blue rod, yet its ruptured crystal within makes the sword resemble her nemesis's. It's untamed and broken, like her concentration within the room filled with the DARK SIDE. As the hooded figure looms closer, Rey charges, until the figure evaporates, and her surroundings return to the present. The saber is extinguished.

Gathering her senses, she looks over the room towards the throne. It's rusted, and a shell that she senses once embraced the epitome of the DARK SIDE. Closer to where an elevator may have existed, the railing, broken in half, draws her to it. Closing her eyes, a beautiful young man disintegrates into a scarred, sad old man, with "Skywalker" breaking from his lips. Another saber ignites behind her.

II

On the battlefield, Captains Finn and Rose are pushing back the FO, their defense has turned to offense. Stormtroopers and walkers continue to flood in from the forest surrounding the skeleton battle station. Rose urges Organa to call for backup, exclaiming that they're needing to overwhelm the enemy before their reinforcements arrive. Leia, underground in the Resistance HQ, reassures Rose that they only need to rendezvous with Rey, and defeat the FO command Star Destroyer.

Poe, with BB-8, lead the Resistance fleet and fighters, delicately balancing their lead despite being outnumbered. Captain Dameron charges his squadron to the behemoth Twilight, the FO flagship. Their lasers bounce off the shields of the Destroyer, impeding their main mission. Poe changes course, urging his fighters to charge against the flanking ships, hoping to get cover from the heavy cannons while taking out more enemies.

General Hux, aboard the Twilight, impatiently waits for Ren and the ground forces to capitalize on their enemy. His disdain for Ren's survival three years before smeared across his face. The prolonged war spreading his patience. His desire to end it all consumes his mood. The ship sensors indicate that the shield below has been destroyed, opening the Resistance to orbital decimation. Hux orders the cannons to unleash their power.

Organa, and the Resistance command, issue their retreat signal, with their shield exposing them to potential extinction. Her linked bracelet to Rey is pressed, as she senses danger through her son's presence.

III

His saber ignited, Ren and Rey steady their ground as the orbital pulverization commences. Rey, unsettled by that implication, charges Ren with her unstable sword. Ren parries her advances, and the station's delicate skeleton shakes beneath them. Ren belittles Rey, claiming her attachment to the Jedi religion, and the Force itself, as abhorrent and feeble considering her coming from nobody. Rey counters that Ren is insatiable in his desire to be his grandfather, who failed to protect the Jedi and betrayed his own kind. They charge each other in the battered throne room, incapable of overwhelming one another.

Finn and Rose sprint to the escape transports within the forest, urging their fighters to flee immediately. Finn, sensing Rey in danger, looks toward the battered superlaser disc, watching mammoth green blasts shred through and pummel the water it's buried in. Rose urges Finn to keep pace, only to worry herself about their only hope of winning.

Poe receives the transmission urging for retreat, with Organa insistent that he return and avoid the disaster they faced three years prior. The ambitious pilot concedes that they need to now escort their transports away from Endor, and to their next destination.

As the two duel across the skeleton of the battle station, they channel the Force when orbital blasts come too close, and launch themselves to safer portions of the decrepit shell. Rey, unable to control her startled emotions, is slashed by Ren above the knee, and he kicks the Skywalker saber from her hands. Through the Force, the saber enters his other hand, and he crosses the blades around the defeated Jedi's throat.

Just then, a billowing voice cries out, "NO!"

IV

Leia feels the Force surge unlike she has felt before, and she goes towards another destination; pilots and fighters and leaders alike ceasefire and are held in a trance; the entire planet and its surroundings are held in suspense. The Force has been channeled to silence and stop every motion, except that of three of its users.

Kylo, perplexed by this tremor in the Force, drops the swords to his sides. Rey, tending to her wound, keeps low and tries to gather the new and looming presence that has seemingly halted the galaxy. Alarmed, both combatants see a very tired, and determined woman near the shore above them. Leia stands aghast, seeing not only the two of them. From the station walks an apparition.

Structured together through mastery of the Force, the tall and determined ghost quietly approaches the two between him and the woman above. His longer hair resembles that of Ren, his robes of the legendary Jedi he belonged to, and his face expressed with grief and regret. Reaching his destination, he looks at his daughter for the first time with his own eyes.

Leia, having always wondered how he once was, sees Anakin Skywalker when he was once a Jedi of legend. She has a pained expression, one of pity and fulfillment, tears flow, and she watches. Anakin's eyes tear up, sharing an expression of regret. He turns his gaze to the younger ones. The former Jedi shares how he is responsible for the state of the galaxy; that his hubris, fear, and pain translated into mistakes and consequences that cannot be fixed by him. Turning to Rey, he shares how her coming from no one doesn't minimize her placement in galactic events. And to Ren, that his created persona is only meant to distract him from the fear of being Ben. Furthermore, to his grandson, he warns that striking down Rey resembles his own choice to fall prey to the dark side when he faced Dooku in the last year of the Clone Wars. Had he not killed him, had he shown mercy, the galaxy may be peaceful; had he resisted temptation for falsely promised power, he would still have his wife and children; had he let go of what he feared to lose, perhaps the galaxy wouldn't have lost countless lives.

Hearing Anakin accept responsibility for his actions and Vader's, Leia's tears streak her seasoned face; Rey trembling under Ren; and the Supreme Leader in disbelief while never letting his grandfather out of his sight. Anakin approaches him closer, telling Kylo that Vader only existed to hide behind his shame for believing a lie. The dark side, Anakin shares, exists to balance out the light, but complete darkness will never win. Moreover, Anakin concedes the faults in the light side of the Force, that ignoring human emotions and passion take away what makes everyone in the galaxy more alike than they're not. The Jedi and the Sith, Anakin states, exist to fight a long and forgotten war between good and evil; a war created to silence opposing ideologies. In the end, those who balance the good within themselves with the bad will become one with the Force, and truly master its nature.

Anakin reaches out to Kylo, asking him to believe his mother that there's still good in him, just as Anakin's son believed the same when he was in his darkest hour. Ren, tears spilling onto his face, extinguishes the sabers, allowing Rey to rise. Anakin smirks, and Leia gasps in disbelief. Rey, with caution in her gaze, looks to Ren and calls him by his given name. Ren's eyes intensify, tears fall as he ignited with sabers, lifting them over his head to strike the last Jedi, only for his attempt to be blocked by the Force. Leia, with her eyes closed, reaches through the Force to stop her son, her hands trembling as his powers resist hers. Kylo screams, Force pushing Rey to the ground as he throws his Force guided saber and impales the former princess. Leia, realizing her fate, releases her hold, stares at where she's been fatally wounded, and back to her son, Rey, and father, before closing her eyes and falling to the depths below.

V

Around them, the suspense is lifted, and everyone is in disarray. Pilots struggle to regain control of their ships, soldiers fall to the ground and attempt to regain their destinations, and leaders double their efforts for retreat.

Ren, with his mother dead, turns his gaze back to Anakin. The dark warrior exclaims how weak Anakin was, and that only Vader's strength made him worthy. Anakin, with sorrow across his face, shares what his former master told him: then you are lost. Ren catches his breath, watching the Force ghost disappear, and Rey has vanished.

Through the woods, the wounded Jedi rushes to where the Resistance base had been before her mission to the battle station, hoping to see her friends and make her journey away from this dreadful planet. She is overwhelmed with pain at seeing her mentor be killed, just has she witnessed Han before. Rey can't hold back the tears, and she continues her sprint to base.

Rose and Finn gather what's left of their ground troops into the last transport, with them holding out hope that their friend is on her way.

Poe comms in to the Resistance ground forces, urging them to finalize their escape transports before the FO retains control of their Destroyers and notice their attempts to flee.

Just as Rey gets to the last transport, Ren appears behind her, the unstable Skywalker saber ignited. With no weapon in hand, she faces him without moving from the ramp to the ship. Tears and rage consume her expression, and Ren's eyes, formerly black, are aflame in a yellow and orange blaze. He attempts a Force Choke, only for her to block through her powers. She gathers her might into a huge Force push, yet Ren knows her too well and counters her. Frustrated, angry, upset and determined, she reaches out for the saber, and Kylo matches her, with the saber locked in a hold between them. They try to overwhelm each other, Ren taunting the Jedi of having lost everyone, and being left alone to die. Rey, from a place she hasn't been before, reaches for the saber with such intensity that lightning erupts from her fingers. It encapsulates the sword, causing it to explode, with the remnant of her power striking Ren to the ground in agony.

Rey, at first smirks and the outcome of her actions. Then, she is shocked and terrified, knowing the dark implications of such use of that Force power. With Ren incapacitated, and the saber destroyed, Rey rushes up the ramp, past her friends, and into the quietest quarters she can find. Finn tends to the cockpit, Chewbacca is seen hovering nearby in the Millenium Falcon, while Rose tends to the wounded. R2-D2 and C-3PO help set the coordinates, and give the orders from Organa they received to launch Operation Cloak.

VI

Due to FO being able to track through hyperspace, Operation Cloak was created for all Resistance ships to use when going at light speed. When fully operational, Cloak disguises their ships as debris and space matter, untraceable materials, but only when they launch. The Resistance flees, with the FO reeling from another lost day. Hux is fuming.

Ren, gaining his ground, his eyes back to black, is baffled by Rey's display of power, knowing she is channeling the dark side. Relishing in that fact, Ren returns to his other mission on the forest moon. He uses the Force to guide him back towards the former throne room, smirking at where he finally silenced the light. In the nexus of darkness, and through the Force, Kylo hears the distant goading of a crooked old man, and the hate of his former master. Deep in the crevices of the Imperial throne, Kylo reaches out and unlocks its arm. Within it, a pyramidal device, black and glowing red, comes to rest in his palms. Manipulating its shape, he unlocks its contents, revealing a hologram of a hidden, evil man.

The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, in a voluminous and deep red robe, appeared before Ren. The former Emperor Palpatine came to life through the hologram, hooded and brooding as he was projected from the dark pyramid and at full height. Kylo listened carefully:

"The Sith have achieved their goal,

I reign supreme over the galaxy.

Through me, unnatural power grows within me,

Yet, my physical body can't withstand it.

My apprentice craves my death,

As a true Sith Lord must.

Unfortunately, he is not a worthy successor,

While the Skywalker offspring may be such.

Thus, upon his inevitable betrayal,

And in sync with my Contigency plan,

The Empire must die, while the Sith rule forever.

Within my palace, under the former Jedi Temple,

There lies the key to such power, to immortality.

There, shall my worthy successor destroy the Jedi,

And the Sith will live within the one true emperor."

Following those last five syllables, the holocron swallowed back the dark figure within its metal walls. Kylo grabbed the object and rested it within his cloak.

VII

Meanwhile, as the FO gathered its remaining ground forces, General Hux ordered his squadron to raid the Resistance base, and seek out any indication of their latest trajectory. Once the soldiers left, the Supreme Leader approached, ignoring all around him while his subjects expressed formalities. Hux followed closely. Kylo had no time to waste, and ordered the general to take the fleet to the former Imperial and Old Republic capital world, Coruscant. Hux scoffed at his ruler's seemingly endless religious escapades, believing the war needed an overwhelming end over sacred beliefs of generations past. As his ship lifted from the ground, Kylo sensed the location where Anakin was given a funeral pyre by Luke, angry at how weak that man was, and how Vader was tricked by such emotions. Then, as if behind his ear, his mother softly spoke his former name: Ben. He shuttered and closed his chambers for meditation.

On the Resistance transport, moving the remaining soldiers and Jedi to their next destination, Finn came to console Rey. Within her chambers, a small closet behind the engines, the young Jedi shook and remained astounded by how her emotions tipped her balance to the dark side. It was against her training, and against the Jedi way. On top of that, her Jedi mentors, the Skywalker children, died trying to protect her. As he listened, Finn tried to reassure her that being angry is only human, yet Rey's shame remained due to the expectations placed upon her by the Order and herself. Rose, having checked in with their leaders, expressed her grief for the loss of Organa, while sharing that losing her sister made her feel as Rey was. Poe rounded the corner, flummoxed that so many had gathered around such a clustered utility closet. Upon his arrival, BB-8 rolled around to their group and joined in with Poe over the excitement of besting the FO on every front. Once Dameron learned of Organa's passing, BB-8 expressed a sorrowful chime. Over the comm, they reached their destination.

VIII

Upon reaching Maz's castle, Resistance transports were ushered to land beneath her cultured home. Beneath the waters surrounding her domain rested a colossal hangar, installed during the Clone Wars when Separatist armies and the Old Republic's clashed. There, Resistance personnel, supplies and comms could rest and recharge before they were either caught, or instructed to fight again.

Rose and Finn, having counseled with their leadership, received instructional command of their ground forces, sharing similar authority with their comrade Poe who lead the air forces. Maz came to comfort and feed their exhausted forces, eagerly awaiting affection from her "boyfriend", and seeking out the young Jedi, sensing a disturbance in the Force she didn't practice, yet respected and recognized.

Beyond the hangar, on the shore where she had first landed and tasted green land and air with her late mentor, Rey sat and crossed her legs, hair face to the sun. She just breathed, sensing the balance of light and dark around her. There was Jakku, the darkness of being alone and forgotten, with endless tally marks on the Imperial walker that was her home. Then Luke and Leia, the lights instructing her saber motions and guiding her will between every living thing. Then an abyss of sorrow, a rage filled sword buried in Leia and Han's chests, her former master Luke expended by protecting the Resistance and her.

What's the light if darkness extinguishes it? Every day for eternity, the light submits to the dark. Every beacon of light fades. Her saber, the Skywalker sword, perished because of her darkness. Leia, killed by darkness. Anakin the same. The Jedi, and the galaxy, forever scarred by the darkness. Without light, there's darkness, yet was she the light anymore? Or just more darkness, dooming the cause of the Resistance and the Jedi? Had the Sith succeeded forever by depleting the galaxy of those who once defeated the dark? Could darkness ever be defeated, or did it last eternally?

Rey contemplated these thoughts through her meditation, unable to reason with how darkness could be defeated while it still resided within her. Her fear, her anger, her hate for the FO and Ren made her extinguish the light created by a Jedi. Without that light, with hers dimmed, the darkness continues to win. Maz approached the last Jedi, intent on helping the troubled youth.

Ren, deep in meditation, sensed his enemy in her contemplation. The dark disciple relished in her shattered feelings, sensing the dark side clouding her judgement and ability to uphold and continue the Jedi religion. His pondering was interrupted by a vision of the hooded evil emperor he saw from the holocron. Looking down at his kneeling helmeted apprentice, the emperor's vivid yellow orange eyes never blinked. Behind Vader, a green saber severed his head, and the emperor cackled wickedly. The Dark Lord exclaimed how Vader was too weak, unable to bury his former self. Luke, his eyes the same as his new master, looked on as the Rebel Alliance fleet perished to the battle station's superlaser, and Endor followed. Palpatine's cackle exploded into malicious joy, with Luke seething in rage, kneeling to his master, his father dead before him, and tears falling to the cold ground of the throne room.

IX

Kylo struggled to contain his emotions when he opened his eyes. Vader, his most cherished and idolized person, was weak? Had he allowed his son to die, would Kylo even exist? Had his former master killed his father, would his fate have been condemned before he could live? Had Anakin and his light extinguish the darkness so that the light may bring forth his life? Will the darkness seek out its own preservation at the expense of others, even of himself?

The Supreme Leader raged in his chambers, reaching for the iconic and feared helmet of his grandfather, the young man insistent on guidance with such visions and thoughts. With fear now directing his tone and pleas, Ren begged for Vader to guide him. The charred helmet had no response. No apparitions of the fearsome Sith Lord could be conjured or sought after. Instead, Ren felt the isolation and loneliness envelope him. The dark side of the Force, as triumphant and invasive as it is, it made Kylo feel so alone, with no guidance. Ben thought about his parents, both killed by his blade, and how they're gone forever. They both, whether they acted to or not, sacrificed themselves for a nobody, a scavenger who wielded unearned power. Those thoughts intensified his rage, causing him to channel the Force and destroy his surroundings. When the sparks settled, he reached for his newly smelted helmet, realizing its ability to instill fear like his grandfather once did. Through his persona, Vader was unstoppable. It was through misguidance of the light that led him astray. Ren sensed it now, and he won't make that mistake. The galaxy shall fear him, forever, and be their new emperor. He left for the command deck.

X

Hux and the FO leadership conceded that, with the Resistance, its sympathizers, and their ability to allude their hyperspace tracking, the war needs to come to a conclusive end. The headway their enemy made at Endor continues to chip away at their gains, and with Snoke gone, their Supreme Leader remains unhinged and incapable of producing the strategic means to defeat the rebels. Hux demanded that a consensus be made to gather their fleet and launch a trap to lure in the might of the Resistance.

The Supreme Leader, sensing his subjects undermining his own plans, stormed into the council's session. Ren, belittling Hux from behind his menacing mask, reaffirmed that the FO can spring a trap, at the former capital of Coruscant. Councilors and Hux stared around in confusion, wondering why such a now insignificant and pirate led planet could end the war. Ren strategized a concession to surrender to terms with the Resistance. Such a concession, Kylo reassured, would be a facade to lure their forces out to a symbolic means for peace, when in reality, they would unleash upon them a torrent of ion and heavy battery cannons. They would incapacitate the rebels, rendering them incapable of escape, and use the fleet to decimate them.

Councilors nodded in agreement, though Hux read through the lines. Knowing his mind was accessible to Ren, he shielded his thoughts of disdain. He knew this plan would be dissected upon arrival by the Resistance, another demonstration of the Supreme Leader's incapacity for long term, effective military strategy, something Hux extensively studied and practiced. Furthermore, with Ren's attachments to the Force, Hux knew that Coruscant was just another destination serving the purpose of Ren only.

Kylo demanded this plan to commence, with councilors scrambling to compose a compelling enough concession that would enrapture the Resistance. As he left the command deck, Hux seethed while gazing out of the windows to the stars. Was Ren really with the FO? Did his ends include that of theirs? Is the Supreme Leader intent on rekindling and remaking the glory of the Empire, or just fulfilling a religious vendetta? These thoughts were shielded by the general, as he grew wary that their foes won't take the bait, and prolong this war while resources remain spent, without any more to build the new regime. Hux began composing his own memorandum.

XI

Maz approaches Rey slowly, her short stature only affording so many steps compared to the human who began to stand. The Jedi, her eyes full of fresh tears, smiled weakly and greeted her host. The lenses around her small eyes were lifted, so she may see Rey for how she was: sad, scared, and angry. These hallmarks of the dark side were familiar to Maz, yet she understood the complexity of life with her 1000 plus years of existence. This Jedi before her was troubled, yet still within reach of clairvoyance.

Seeing the Skywalker saber gone, and asking where it may be, Rey conceded her rage destroyed it. The short host ushered the tall human to sit with her, and listen intently. Maz recounted the legend surrounding the Skywalker name.

"Anakin, having constructed a weapon of light, used it to usher in darkness, both to the galaxy and his own life. When he was defeated, the saber was the light's hopeful instrument for when Luke or Leia came of age. Due to Leia having been raised away from a Jedi, Luke inherited the sword, and was challenged to enlighten the galaxy. When he confronted the enforcer of darkness, his ill preparation lost him his weapon of light. The sword was discovered by Bespin gas smugglers, who realized the fame, financial potential, and notoriety attached to such an ancient weapon. When the Empire fell, and chaos from the power vacuum ensued, the weapon was sold between patrons seeking influence from its possession. Thus, it was sold from the destitute to the well off, between good and bad people, both of whom were attributing hope and destruction to its meaning and possession. Meanwhile, Jedi Master Luke, with his New Order, faced his internal demise from his manipulated nephew, and he sought to sever himself from the Force, rendering the Jedi almost extinct once again. When the news spread of his disappearance, the legendary saber and its lineage attained newfound notoriety, being the last vestige of the Jedi and Sith. It was suspected that the newly dubbed Kylo Ren sought it out, and had the might of Snoke's FO to search for it. It is by no means a mistake that, with the dark side rising, and its own dark history, the will of the Force protected it from being found. And those said smugglers and collectors, through that same Force, came to pass through the castle and compel me to acquire it by any means necessary. I was charged with encasing it until the right person, filled with light and hope, could wield it. And that was you, Rey. The Force, the saber, it chose you."

The Jedi smiled at Maz, appreciating her insight and insinuation that she was worthy of the light and her training, yet her recent feeling and emotions quickly rid of that appeal. Rey expresses that she never felt worthy of the saber, that her destiny is wrought with pain and suffering, having lost all of her mentors while using her emotions to attack Ren.

Maz, however, countered that defeatism by attributing such emotions to being human and living and present in a truly dark time for the galaxy. Furthermore, she shared that Rey was worth of the Skywalker saber because she, like Anakin and Luke, is demonstrative of the balance between light and dark. Before he was seduced and became Vader, Anakin had hope; and in resisting the emperor's temptations, though using his hate to defeat Vader, Luke remained worthy of the light.

That balance of light and dark, is the future, Maz declared. For thousands of years, light and dark have waged war with each other, and countless lives have suffered and perished due to their incessant "one versus other" battle, with either incapable of allowing the other to exist. Thus, the hate and anger in Rey, Maz believes, is balanced by her discipline and morality. She can feel those emotions, while resisting the temptations of inflicting pain. Meanwhile, she can defend herself and her friends, without letting her attachment to them be the only dictation of her actions. Rey, to Maz, is demonstrative of the necessary future of ending the war of the good and evil, the Jedi and the Sith, by finding balance with herself and the Force. Like the Skywalkers before her, the war will end and balance will be restored. Rey cried and embraced the short creature, her kind and enlightening words bringing a resurgence of hope and determination to her person. They went together towards the castle.

XII

Poe, Finn and Rose, the leading council of the Resistance, know their time hiding under the castle is limited, with the FO tracking communications throughout the galaxy, and continuing their raids of known systems and Resistance supporters. Rose, co-general of the ground forces, believes that they've salvaged and amounted enough ammunitions for one more assault, yet they'll be unable to counter the FO beyond that. Finn, sharing the responsibilities with Rose, shares that important contributors to their cause are wary of the lack of progress made to close in on the FO, and that their resources may be cutoff without a significant victory. Furthermore, Poe brings intelligence reports in from his spies that the FO has their capital ship and fleet surrounding Coruscant. Confusion is shared among councilors and personnel. Why are they at the old capital? Is it a trap like during the Galactic Civil War?

Just as Rey enters HQ with Maz, Finn smiles in relief to see her renewed expression, while Rose and Poe continue to dissect those reports of the FO whereabouts and possible intentions. He checks in with his friend, sensing her feelings seemingly relaxed and controlled since they left Endor. Rey thanks him for his patience and understanding, and they embrace.

In their periphery, C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8 chime and squeal in alarm. Their processing chips, programmed to receive broadcasts, have been notified from deep within the galactic core. Personnel and Resistance leaders respond and surround them, waiting for coherent speech from their receivers. The two astromech droids go silent, seemingly shutting down, while 3PO's eyes turn red. From his audio projector, an arcane, ancient speech emanates forth, confusing the bystanders. Switching between thousands of languages, his projector finally switches to human comprehend-able speech. It's a broken, crooked voice from a generation ago.

"Long have I waited!

And now, the end of the war is near.

My Empire failed to protect me,

And the First Order seeks to emulate me,

While a Resistance feebly wishes for peace.

The Sith and Jedi are all but extinct,

And now, my successor, the heir to the galaxy,

Stands among you, eager for power.

Within my throne, it resides."

A sinister cackle ended the transmission. Everyone stared in bewilderment, attempting to process the message. Chewbacca approached the protocol droid, sensing something was wrong. Having tended to his comrade for decades, the Wookiee grew worried since, following that cackle, the droid went dim and limp. Attempts to restart his systems were fruitless, while smoke emerged from where his motherboard resided. R2-D2, running a diagnostic, concedes that the droid was designed for termination following any use of the ancient, Sith language they first heard. The blue droid released his connection to his lost compatriot, and rolled away from everyone.

XIII

General Hux, frustrated with how no computer or processor could translate that ambiguous transmission they just received, called for Ren to tend to the issue, hoping his religious studies could decipher it, begrudgingly. Kylo, knowing the roots of the language, attached the holocron to the communications processor, and it deciphered the transmission for them.

Following the evil cackle, one heard by a select few older officers and recently Ren, he relished in the prospect that he, with his lineage and placement in galactic events, has been set to inherit it all, and fulfill his grandfather's destiny. He demanded his shuttle be prepped for landing near the former Imperial Palace, the late Jedi Temple of the Old Republic. Hux raged, and sent out a message.

XIV

Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca lead the way, placing the protocol droid in the testing chamber of the Millennium Falcon. The two co-pilots reminisced over how the last war brought them all together, and how this one kept taking away from them. Chewbacca whimpered in agreement, with the princess's blaster resting with his crossbow. Rey let the two mourn, while she returned to Resistance HQ. Before she could re-enter their space, the Force bound her to her equal across the galaxy once again.

Ren, sensing their connection awakening, realized her presence was no longer volatile, yet unbalanced. He shared with her how the end to everything was coming closer. How besting the temptations towards the light will finally grant him the power to control the galaxy and destroy the Jedi. Rey countered, claiming his extinguishment of the light was futile since he still obsessed over his and his family's legacy; that without the light, he will fail, unlike Vader, who brought balance to the force by shunning the dark when he needed. Kylo smirked, insistent on enveloping the galaxy in darkness, as was Vader's true intentions, before he was blindsided and betrayed by Luke, like during his training. Rey wouldn't have it, and she severed their communication by walking away. Ren smiles again to himself, seeing the towering spires coming closer as his ship settled down.

Bewildered by so many intelligence reports and transmissions, Rey entered a council meeting in disarray. A secret memorandum was received, insinuating that the fleet around Coruscant is a trap, and any intelligence suggesting concessions or surrender are bait. The Resistance has been advised to arrive and commence attacking the FO. Poe believes it, and pressures council members to issue coordinates now. Finn is skeptical, believing that the warning of bait is itself bait to make the Resistance believe they have an advantage. Rose, on the other hand, thinks the warning may be valid, just that more time is needed for preparation.

As they argued amongst themselves, Rey felt a disturbance in the Force. A malevolent, evil presence sent shockwaves through the Force. Images from Endor of the hooded figure crept in her mind, the epitome of the dark side seemed to be manifesting from near the core of the galaxy. The dark side had been tempting before. This time, it was drawing her to its presence. She gathered herself, and broke up the arguments around her.

XV

The Resistance knew of, fought with, and respected Rey. It was rare when she took center stage in such matters, leaving it historically for Organa before her death. She conceded that uncertainty and patience are required for what's next, and that ambiguity surrounds that step forward. The Jedi commended their collective strength and determination to bring peace and justice back to a broken galaxy. Rey insisted they fully expend Operation Cloak and enter Coruscant and light speed, as Han did with Starkiller Base. When gasps amounted at such a suggestion, she asked them to trust her, believing that such an abrupt entry would bypass any scanner, and allow them a tactical advantage to catch the FO off guard. From there, with their leadership present, they'd be able to inflict a fatal blow, and cripple the FO for good.

Skepticism remained, yet her friends smiled and believed in her. They voted in unison, and began preparations. As personnel left to their sectors, the leading council surrounded Rey. Finn's smile left, and he urged Rey for reassurance. Rose and Poe followed, unable to fully take in the magnitude of such a mission. Rey expresses that, through the will of the Force, they will succeed. The Force shall guide them to victory, with her as their means to channel that power. She recalled for them that there's still hope, and rebellions succeed because of hope. Rey requested she have her own fighter, so she may fulfill a mission in tandem with theirs. Poe delegated his own X-wing, with BB-8 in tow. The Jedi was elated, and they embraced.

XVI

The desolate, decrepit Imperial Palace remained a foreboding presence in the Coruscant skyline. Pirates had plundered and overran most of the metropolis planet after the Empire fell and the New Republic installed rotating capitals. The mechanical city-planet was prey to the nexus of dark side power that had been housed under the structure for generations, which the late emperor cultivated during his reign. Ren relished in the dark energy emanating from within.

Ascending the innumerable steps, he sensed the majesty and tragedy that had traversed the legendary structure. Countless Jedi, younglings and masters, took these same steps, clouded in their hubris and dogmatic narrow views. Stormtroopers unleashed torrents of blaster fire upon those Force abusers, and his grandfather slew traitors of the galaxy. Kylo was oddly alarmed by these memories flooding in, as if remorse snuck in for those betrayed by their former brother and comrade.

The Force flowed through him, echoes of crying children then silenced by anger and pain behind a blue saber. Images of their corpses across the grand hall of the palace couldn't be unseen, though decades had passed since the Proclamation of the New Order. There, across the hall, before the elevator to the emperor's throne room, stood an apparition of his grandfather, mercilessly slaying those younglings and masters Ren grew to hate. However, his hate turned to pity and remorse, as he saw his own master betraying him at the academy before, so too were they betrayed.

Was his former master disillusioned like his father was before him? Did Ren succumb to the entrapment of the dark side? Were those fallen Jedi betrayed? These thoughts severely threw off Kylo. Before proceeding any further, he ruminated over these feelings.

XVII

Without a saber, Rey meditated intensively as they traveled at lightspeed to Coruscant. The Force, she had been taught by her mentors, will guide her and be her means to fulfill her destiny. Her eyes opened when comms chimed in, indicating the fleet is within seconds of the Coruscant skyline. When the command was issued for sunlight engines, Rey tapped into the Force.

Emulating the legendary and infamous Jedi Knight she witnessed on Endor, Rey tapped deep within herself and the Force, suspending every Resistance vessel fresh out of hyperspace. Mere meters from catastrophe, the fleet of rebel ships rested in harmony through Rey's channeling of the Force. As she maintained their position, each ship made use of their respective landing gear, and touched down safely.

Poe, Rose and Finn cheered on the Jedi, as their soldiers' morale peaked in anticipation. Rose and Finn quickly dispatched to their ground officers, insisting on sniper patrols, while soldiers to make use of the chasms within buildings to entrench themselves in anticipation of FO arrivals. Poe rendezvoused with his pilot officers, delegating formations and tactics meant to cripple defensive capital FO ships.

As the Resistance fighters dispatched, the nexus of dark energy lured Rey towards it, with BB-8 in tow. Something was very wrong...

XVIII

Aboard the Twilight, Hux tired of Ren's endless travels to fulfill long lost religious ends, and meant to end it. Knowing of the Resistance presence on Coruscant, and the Supreme Leader ever consumed beyond FO goals, the general issued an orbital bombardment surrounding the former Imperial palace. With his officers flummoxed with such a request, he demanded it be initiated, immediately.

Sensing the disturbance in the Force, Rey realized her mistake, and rallied the ground forces to retreat and back into space. Rose and Finn, flabbergasted by this development, instantly retreated back to their transports.

As they arrived into space behind the fighters, Poe received word that coverage was necessary, while fighting the FO fleet. The morale plummeted, and the Resistance began to panic.

Aboard the Falcon, Chewbacca cried out in response to the grave news over the comlink, urging Lando to leave and gather support. The seasoned pilot and smuggler agreed, and they jumped before the first Destroyer cannons fired.

Alone on before the infamous palace, Rey sprinted towards the palace, as mammoth green bolts of energy cascaded behind and around her. How could she be so proud yet blind? Is the light testing her? Will she continue to fail in protecting her friends? Rey was overwhelmed and afraid as she scaled the endless steps of the former temple.

XIX

Kylo was startled the onslaught of cannon fire raining in around the palace. His meditation abruptly interrupted, he sensed his feelings unmediated, while his nemesis was close by. Scaling the hall to the elevator, he watched the door close as Rey appeared across the way. Just after it began its ascent, the shaft shook violently, and Ren had to use his powers to open the door back and run out before the vessel collapsed within. Taken aback, he saw Rey before him, her gaze unsettled.

Rey, her jaw clenched and eyes piercing the disgraced son of Solo, couldn't catch her breath. So much destruction devastated these halls. The echoes of fallen Jedi were deafening since she entered the former imperial palace. Why must so many die, and for what? For so very few to enjoy the benefits of galactic dominance? Of course the Sith were inherently wrong in the conquest from the Clone Wars, yet they effectively eradicated any vestibule of hope. And the Jedi, were they so blind to not allow history to repeat and so they allowed themselves prey to the dark side? The screams of younglings and padawans and masters, no one was here to save them from the darkness. Why is the darkness so strong and overwhelming? Where is the strength in the light? These questions, left unanswered and compounding within the young Jedi, made Rey so very angry.

XX

Captain Rose effectively got her battalion under the armor of the palace's harbor, but the orbital cannons above slowly chipped away. She knew the odds were against them, and she closed her eyes momentarily. Thinking of her sister, her brave hero of a sister who saved the Resistance despite the grand odds against her. When her bomber was exploding, she had closed her eyes and thought of her sister as well. A tear went down her bruised cheek, and Rose opened her eyes. As she looked over her troops, some would say she evoked the late general with her words.

Rose promised nothing to them. As she likened this to the Battle of Crait, she insisted that hope's spark is near extinguished. That this may all be the end and no victory may come. However, even in the darkest moments, that hope can shine brightest through love. Love for democracy, for peace, for friends and family. Her love for her fallen sister has kept her spirit alive. And love for the cause of ending tyranny. And she urged her troops to channel that love, for what or who ever kept them fighting, and prepare for the FO ground troops. Her troops rally cried together in unison, and shouted: For the General, for the Republic! Rose smiled, and her breath shook.

XXI

Finn, aboard the transport, worried about Rey. Having seen her anger and frustration, he wondered how he could help who has saved his life. So many of their own have been taken by this war, and so many wars before have taken countless others. And for what? Democracy and tyranny have fought and killed each other so much more for the cycles to repeat. His frustrations swelled as well. He punched the hull, his troops looked on worried and disappointed. They sensed the danger, and they grew tired of running away. The captain approached his troops, offering hope without promise. Poe chimed on the comm.

Poe, while BB-8 focused shields on the rear of his X-Wing, commed his friend with hope. As the squadron leader wove through cascades of destroyer cannons, Lando and Chewbacca emerged from hyperspace. As did another 26 ships. And 321 more. And 978 more after that. The signal from Crait, when Organa believed the spark of hope gone, it reached sympathizers for democracy and the Republic. The legend of Luke Skywalker, who defeated Vader and the emperor, who single-handedly faced the might of the FO, inspired a galaxy's worth of hope. And they were en route to face the might of the FO navy. And the green destroyer cannons were outshined by waves of red and blue lasers pulverizing shields.

Hux, aboard the Twilight command deck, was distraught, as was his crew. As the endless waves of Resistance fighters emerged above the Coruscant horizon, he could barely hear his inferiors scrambling out fighters, trying to maneuver the destroyers in unison, and divert power to what shields were being pummeled. He thought to himself: Ren, he means to shame us. He has abandoned us for something just for himself. The FO has provided EVERYTHING for him, and he still decides to chase forgotten and lost power. And now, we are exposed, and our legacy is on the line against a Resistance without leaders, just so-called heroes. Hux then ordered the orbital bombardment to end, and focus cannon fire on the fighters and cruisers. And sent all the trooper battalions to the imperial palace. Hux, he thought again, I'm the Supreme Leader now, and Ren will die.

XXII

Ren, still shaken by the echoes of massacred Jedi, tries to focus on the very angry last Jedi in front of him. He felt her raw power unleashed when her force lightning destroyed his family's saber before she left Endor. Her power was potent, unhinged and dangerous. Unlike power he has felt before. Why her? He is the Chosen One's only grandson, how could she be possibly more powerful? No, she can't be. The Force is testing him as well as her. Through the dark side, she channeled her anger and was momentarily powerful. But she cannot control it like he can. Like his grandfather, Ren knows how to use his hate and anger to fulfill his destiny. Rey is prey to temptation, yet still hostage to the light.

Rey, without a weapon to challenge her foe, circled him. She spat out her words. "You're a monster Kylo! You've destroyed your family, killed them in cold blood, and have brought destruction to the galaxy, and for what? For an empty throne? For a destroyed galaxy ravished by endless war? The darkness consumes everything, and it will leave you once a more suitable warrior succeeds him."

Ren mocked her. "Who will succeed me, you? You came for the throne as well, it seems, because you're tempted by the darkness. I felt your power, your anger for me. It is strong, but you won't win. But you can still join me. I will teach you the ways of the Force, as you should learn to use it. The Jedi, they caused their own extinction. They were blinded by pride and couldn't see the darkness enveloping them. Don't you see? The light is eclipsed. Hope is gone. The Jedi and Sith, they're gone! The Republic, the Empire, the Resistance and First Order. They mean nothing! All that matters is the Force! The balance wasn't found when the Sith were destroyed. The Jedi rose again, only to turn on themselves and be destroyed! I saw through their lies as my grandfather did, but the Sith were too consumed by the Jedi. Sidious focused on their extinction, and on his own immortality. And he failed!"

In the halls of the former Jedi library, then the imperial grand hall, the ground shook beneath the two warriors. But the orbital strikes stopped, is the planet quaking? Gigantic cracks and fissures streaked across the walls and floors, throwing down former Imperial banners and texts left behind. The warriors circled inward towards the imperial emblem faintly left in the center. They seemingly left their qualms aside as they both tried to study what was happening. A flash of lightning shot out from beneath them, and the emblem began to crumble. As they jumped to opposing sides, they noticed under the crumbling floor was a rigid and dark presence down a winding flight of stairs. Before Rey could look at him, Ren pushed her through the Force against the other wall. She couldn't react in time and was knocked out. Ren, taking a deep breath, descended.

XXIII

Rose ordered her battalion to form squadrons to cover their rear and palace entrance. She knew Rey was needing more time, and the FO transports were beginning their descent to the former Jedi harbor. She led her squad to the rear, intending to fight off the incoming enemy so as to cut off their advances. She commed Finn: General, where is your battalion, FO is touching down now! There was no response. She breathed, cocked her rifle, and kissed the smelt she and her sister shared. They charged at the FO with such intensity that the enemy had to retreat as they fought back.

Poe and his squadron, with the help of Lando and Chewie's armada of Resistance sympathizers, pummeled FO destroyer shields, and their cruisers lined up for intense battery volleys. Poe tried to reach Finn as well, but without any luck. The dog fights above Coruscant covered the entire sky and traffic space. Blue, green and red lasers flooded space. Poe did his best to direct squadrons, yet the FO unleashed torrents of fighters with ramming frigates hurling cruisers into freighters. The fighting was beautiful and unhinged. There were too many of them.

Finn ignored the other captain's attempts to reach him. His battalion wove through the fighting on their freighter, and they were heading towards the lead FO destroyer. He hadn't shared with Rose or Poe of his intentions, nor did he let his soldiers know. The pilots were told in strict confidence, knowing full well that Finn may have gone rogue. They talked amongst themselves: boarding the commanding destroyer, with General Hux on board?! Was it going to be a suicide mission? Finn reassured them that all they needed was to sweep in while the fighting around the destroyer kept the command distracted. His plans? Those remained with Finn. He watched through the ramp port window as they approached FO hangar.

XXIV

Rey regained consciousness, her head was throbbing from being slammed by Ren against the wall. Her eyes were blurred, the shaking had stopped, and the dark side was everywhere. Once she could focus, she rose to her fight and paced towards where the emblem once was. Now, as she looked down the stairs, the dark side surrounded her. She felt her anger and rage intensify; her Jedi training was being tested to the fullest extent possible. It was uncertain how far the descent was, but she started as her breaths grew deeper and longer as she tried to steady her feelings. A very faint cackle echoed below her steps.

The FO ground assault was on the defensive while Rose's squad held steady. Her military training, and tutelage under the late general, made her a formidable commander. She was worried though. More FO transports were descending to reinforce their ranks while she only had her one battalion that was slowly being chipped away at. As she maneuvered her ranks to keep the FO encircled and held back, she still couldn't reach Finn. Had he run away like he tried when they first met? No, he couldn't have. On Crait, he was ready to end his life for their cause before she saved him. That kiss, still on her lips after all of these years, gave her renewed hope for the future they could all have if they fought together. But where is he? More FO troops landed, and were installing heavy battery cannons.

Poe just successfully took down a destroyer! Its cannons still firing indiscriminately as the bridge was ablaze, and the reinforced Resistance armada kept the FO defensively holding. He looked around to see many of the galaxy that came out struggling to fight lethal TIE fighters. They left everything for us, and are fighting just because of hope. They have nothing to lose, he thought, but the Resistance, they have everything to lose. Aboard those ships were women and men of all races and species and backgrounds, devastated by endless war, and still fighting. But he was hardly a leader in this moment. There was no clear message for formations or maneuvers outside of his fighters. They were fighting from their own knowledge, and lack thereof. And the FO was beginning to notice and capitalize on this. More and more explosions filled the sky as TIE bombers wove through and destroyed multiple friendly fighters. Poe began to worry, and still nothing from Finn.

His troops were anxious as to why they were about to board a destroyer, but Finn had a plan, supposedly. As their thrusters eased and the landing gear propped them on the FO deck, a hail of blaster fire chipped at their transport armor. Finn spoke: we have them by surprise. They're in a panic, and with their troops already deployed, it's just personnel. We have to disable their engines, capture Hux and force him to issue a retreat. We are alone here. No one knows we are here, but we will be there for them. May the Force be with us. The soldiers wore worried faces, loaded their weapons, and as the ramp descended, matched the FO red blasters with a storm of blue. Finn pushed forward, and the destroyer engines were their first destination.

XXV

Rey followed the faint cackle downwards, the light above her faded as crackling embers kept the path lit. Once she reached the bottom, a massive ramp was lined with hooded and cracked statues. The air was stagnant, almost sterile. She gasped seeing a red clad stormtrooper. Her instinct was to take cover, they had certainly seen her. But they didn't move. Hundreds of them flanked the sides of the ramp, their armor as red as Crait salt, but they were not moved. Among them, hooded figures spoke an ancient tongue she couldn't comprehend. She noticed in their hands various vials with liquids as they went towards storage chambers and back down the ramp. Cautiously walking down, avoiding looking directly at the troopers, she met an enormous wall with an emblem emblazoned on it. It was not of the Jedi, or the Republic or the Empire. To each side of the wall, flashes of white light splashed the blackened walls, and Rey chose the left doorway to enter.

Past the doorway, a mammoth pyramidal chamber harnessed lightning from its top, the energy flowed downwards to numerous arcane-looking machines and pumps. To her left, numerous bacta tanks were empty. Beyond them, opposite of the wall, was a crooked and jagged rock formation that housed one singular chair. A throne. When she looked opposite of the tanks, if she had chosen the right doorway, she would've seen Ren first. He was standing there, frozen in his steps, yet apparently sweating and panting. He was facing a colossal mechanical arm that fed out from the electrical pinnacle. Veins of pumps and fluids channeled down its spine. Mere meters from Ren's face, and the bottom of the spine, was the blackest hooded figure. Rey took her breaths steady, circling around behind Ren. The darkness was broken as the lightning surged again, and the hooded figure showed a face. It bellowed: "I have been expecting you."

XXVI

The FO transports kept coming, and Rose conceded their best bet was to take cover among the harbor vents and defend their now vulnerable position. Her soldiers fought with determination, with their rocket launchers successfully deterring those transports from landing in close proximity. That allowed their snipers and grenades to keep the FO from overwhelming their position. It won't hold forever, the captain thought. She was determined to not give up the fight, inspired by her company and this last stand against the FO. But the tide was shifting. They were on borrowed time. Where was Finn?!

Poe tried to comm various ships to coordinate strategy, but FO pilots were beginning to overwhelm the Resistance and the sympathizers that came to their aid. Thankfully the FO was still on the defensive, but with so many untrained and older pilots, the FO had the advantage and were pushing to keep it that way. When Poe attempted an assault on Hux's destroyer, the flanking cruisers unleashed torrents of ion cannons that rendered dozens of ships prey to the hull surface cannons which split them in half. He had to get those shields down, but his own squadron was struggling to reach his position as they focused their assault on the TIEs. It wasn't looking good.

Once they cleared the hangar, Finn's battalion felt a surge of hope. Though he wasn't too clear, Finn had a way to keep them inspired. He knew these halls, the weaknesses in armor and hull structure, and he was ready to assault the FO. He issued a squad to keep the transport safe, another to cover the halls leading to it, while he and two others made their way to the engine cooling station. They'd disable their hyperdrive, and then take down their shields. It was too risky, with the odds against them. But Finn, he sensed a feeling.

XXVII

The disgraced son of Leia and Han was released from the Force hold upon him as Rey looked it him and joined his side. Both were panting as the dark figure bellowed.

"At last, you are both mine! For over 30 years I've waited for my return to full strength, and fulfill the Sith's universal reign!" Shortly after it cackled, a wheeze and gasp for air followed. Hooded zealots rushed to his side and administered injections and oxygen vents. The crackling lightning showed how deeply disfigured this, thing, was. Attached to the massive spine was what resembled a human male, ghoulishly white skinned, grey eyes without pupils, black and purple veins and cracks over the skin, rotting flesh peeling back to reveal exposed bone. The voluminous black hood robe encased the disfigured man, bearing resemblance to the infamous fallen Galactic Emperor Palpatine. Once his devout subjects restored him, he smirked and continued.

"Though my former apprentice did as any true Sith would by destroying me, he was weak and foolish to have done so out of pity for his son. After he ended my life and reign, he became a disgraced Jedi and died in vain. The Force created Anakin, he was the vergence I sought for once I felt his existence. Once I seduced him, and he became Vader, the Sith ruled once again! But, after his former master left him crippled and torched, he was torn between his former self and my creation. For years I cultivated and taught my apprentice to use his hate and anger and pain to fuel his power. Oh, what a powerful Sith he was! And then, upon discovering he indeed had a child, oh, I had found a worthy replacement! Young Skywalker possessed the full potential I once had in his father, but Vader never lived up to it. I was, as his son claimed, over confident in believing Vader could be turned. How weak my apprentice became!"

The ghoul required further assistance, he was clearly too weak for such engagements. Kylo spoke, "Vader was betrayed by his feelings! It was Anakin that was awoken by Luke and caused Vader to falter. Vader wasn't weak, Anakin was!" The ghoul wheezed and frowned.

"You're blinded in your assessment young Solo. Vader was weak! He could never fully embrace the dark side as a true Sith! After he lost his wife, he could never lose the love he once had for her. I taught my apprentice everything I wanted him to know, but not everything. Once it was discovered that he had a son, Vader became as my apprentices before him were: a pawn. Luke hated Vader, and me and my Empire. When I made them duel on before me, Vader's son was fueled with hate and anger! Oh, it was what I once felt in Vader. When my apprentice was defeated, that was the shatter point of my reign as the Dark Lord of the Sith! When Luke chose to be a pitiful Jedi Knight, he had to die, for no Jedi would destroy EVERYTHING I designed! Alas, I was over confident. For you see, my confidence blinded me from seeing the fallen Jedi Anakin having return to fulfill their so-called prophecy. Shortly after he hurled me down the reactor shaft, my power and essence left that vessel. Thus, the prophecy was not fulfilled!"

Kylo was visibly enraged at the fallen Sith Lord. His zealous feelings towards his grandfather compelled him to strike down the Dark Lord, but he restrained his instincts, eager for answers. Rey spoke next, "How is this possible? Anakin returned and destroyed the Sith, bringing balance back to the Force! How could you have survived?!" The young Jedi could barely catch her breath, her anger swelled.

"Ah, as I told my apprentice, the dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Once I begun the production of the Clone Wars and its soldiers, I had an arsenal of vessels created to host my essence. My loyal subjects here, through my power and Sith alchemy, experimented and tested these hosts to contain and survive with the dark side. However, my power is too great, and even the most suitable clone is rotting away. One vessel became promising enough: your former master, young Solo. Yes, Snoke as he became, was allowed to thrive despite the dark side ravishing his physical form. After my first death, since he was strong enough, I still ruled through him. Powerful he was, yet not a Sith, nor worthy of unlimited power! And when you destroyed him, I got to witness one of my worthy heirs"

Kylo exploded in rage "ONE? What do you mean heir? Who else could it be?!" The Dark Lord cackled again, but his followers didn't rush to his side. The energy and aura of the room shifted. The dark side of the Force resonated and surrounded Sidious, sustaining his strength as he continued.

"Your anger is palpable, young Solo. Snoke was correct, you are the heir-apparent to Lord Vader! However, once my essence was completely transferred and this vessel conscious, another vergence sprang in the Force! You see, since Anakin didn't completely restore balance, and fell after his betrayal, the Force created another to fulfill destiny. In my physically weakened state, I've searched far and wide across the galaxy to trace the progeny of the Force. Just as the Skywalkers were borne from the Force, so was this child. The mother bore a child, without a father, but the child was sold for trade. Since young Solo effectively destroyed Skywalker's Jedi Order, there was no way the Jedi could get to this child this time. But I was wrong. The Force brought the child to the Jedi and they made her their last."

Kylo fumed as I took in the last sentence. Her?! He breathed heavily, and turned to see Rey. The young Jedi, borne from the Force as was Kylo's fallen grandfather, couldn't catch her breath. She had so long wondered who her parents were. In the cave of the island, in the mirror, it showed two shadow figures merging to show her as her parent. The Force produced her. And whoever her mother is, or was, sold her for trade on Jakku. Did her mother know of the Force? Rey was flush with emotions, most of all panic. Sidious smirked and cackled.

XXVIII

Hux screamed at the bridge crew, his rage finally unleashed. "What do you mean they've boarded us?! Where the hell are they?!" The cadets scoured the security cameras and proximity sensors, urgent to answer their fuming general. One finally found them, telling Hux of their trajectory for their engines. "You best get every damned trooper to apprehend them, or you'll have doomed us all!" Alarms blared through the colossal destroyer halls, troopers gathered in squads and ran to engage the Resistance fighters.

Finn placed another proximity detonator on the doors to the engine cooling systems. All they needed was to destroy the cooling systems, leaving the ship crippled and incapable of flight and lightspeed. His soldiers covered the technicians who were lining the coolants with explosives. The alarms were near deafening, they all knew their time was extremely limited. A red blaster bolt flew past the general's face, Finn turned the corner, loaded his pistol, and engaged the oncoming stormtroopers alongside his flanking squad.

They just fired their last rocket. The stream of FO transports were slowing down, but battalions continued to touch ground beyond the harbor. Rose ordered her technical support to enter the decrepit defensive turrets and prayed they still had batteries for firing. Her battalions were holding the line, but the pressure from the FO prevented any chance of breaking their lines. Their defense was barely holding on. Rose armed another thermal detonator and launched it towards the stormtroopers bombarding them. The explosion tore through the middle, as white clad soldiers screamed and crashed to the ground. She took breath, closed her eyes, but was then startled by the harrowing sound of twin ion engines. TIE fighters entered their right, the defense began to crack.

XXIX

Dameron tried to reassure the shrieking warnings of BB-8 that he was trying to get his squadron to break from the space theater and cover Rose. His fighters were struggling to catch his communications as the space around them thundered and explosions ripped across the heavy cruiser hulls they fought around and between. Once he was able to get the squadron on the comm, and as they descended below the atmosphere of Coruscant, Poe's X-Wing shredded the second shield generator for Twilight. The explosion threw off his ship, but his piloting mastery allowed him to correct course. The Millennium Falcon roared beside him, Lando where Han would sit as Chewie forever the noble copilot.

"Poe, our numbers are thinning but we still have the advantage. The FO auxiliary cruisers are taking us out quicker than the destroyers. We will try to rally squads to eliminate those while you concentrate on Twilight." Lando's seasoned voice expressed confidence and caution, Chewie roared in agreement. The Falcon flipped and veered around the destroyer, and began to pummel the flanking cruisers as friendly fighters fought off TIEs. Lando expressed "I've got a bad feeling about this" while Chewie whined in concession.

XXX

"Now you both have a choice. Strike me down, and my essence shall overwhelm and take host in one of you, while the other becomes my apprentice. Or, kill the weaker of you both, and I'll inhabit the victor. No matter the choice, I will rise again!" The Dark Lord was frightening, the intensity of his words thundered within the chamber as his Sith troopers began to encircle the three Force wielders. His skeletal hand twitched, and a console beside the throne beeped and registered codes.

While the alarms continued on the bridge, Hux was warned of a colossal object emerging from hyperspace. The power readings were off the charts, and the size was hundreds of times larger than Snoke's flagship the Supremacy. Looking through the bridge, Hux gasped in astonishment and fear.

Poe was just aiming for the last shield generator before he stopped to witness what appeared as if a massive cannon, thousands of times larger than any destroyer or dreadnought he had fought before. It was black, red and purple, thousands of turbo lasers and dozens of bridges across its gigantic hull. Dozens of engines beamed bright gold light, and the majority of the cannon was a crater just barely less than the size of the Starkiller Base's main cannon. Within the crater roared intense green light. It was charging.

XXXI

Dozens of projectors ignited in the Sith chamber, the broadcast of the massive cannon and fighters lit up the cavernous throne room. Rey and Kylo fixed their gaze upon the images as the Sith Lord croaked. "The tradition of the Sith is to instill and spread fear to establish and maintain control. My Death Stars were the first weapons in thousands of years to project that fear, but they were flawed. Starkiller Base, the most recent flawed expression, cannot compete to my ultimate weapon! Forged by my loyal subject from Exegol, decades in the making, my Galactic Devastator fires within seconds dozens of projectiles that travel at light speed to destroy fleets and planets across the galaxy! My weapon swallows everything in its proximity and reforges it all into firepower! From here you will witness the final destruction of the Resistance and the First Order! And from their ashes will rise the Final Order, my order! And my reign will last forever!" They watched the green chasm churn from the projectors.

Rose heard the cannon emerge high above despite the fire around her. The green light lit like a sun above Coruscant. Her battalion, and the FO, momentarily fixated on the fighting in space beyond. Their expressions turned to horror and panic.

Finn continued to fend of squads of stormtroopers. They couldn't set off the coolant explosives until they'd clear the area and neared the hangar where there transport was being defended. A squad of FO troopers set off one of the proximity mines, and ripped the halls apart and deafened most of the Resistance fighters nearby. Finn fired blue bolts that were met with red. They were trapped. Finn feared he had failed them. Another siren blared around them "Evasive maneuvers! All personnel must evacuate immediately!"

Hux tried to hail the mammoth cannon but no transmission was returned. He didn't know if they were aligned or the enemy. Auxiliary cruisers asked for guidance, but he had no answers. But they were no longer able to guide the destroyer. As if they'd entered a gravity well, their destroyer was being sucked towards the cannon's crater. He scoured the bridge viewports, and noticed they weren't the only ones.

Poe was ordering fighters to attack the numerous bridges along the hull of the cannon, but many sympathizers were leaving through hyperspace, while those closest to the cannon were caught in the gravity abyss. Over the comms, hundreds of screams were suddenly silenced as FO and Resistance fighters were swallowed by the green energy, its power roared as each ship fed into it. For the first time in his life, Poe was in a panic and had no idea of what to do. "Retreat! Light speed away as fast as possible, immediately!"

XXXII

Rey was horrified while Kylo was unmoved, incredibly stoic. Rey cried and raged as she watched hundreds of her friends be destroyed. Kylo focused on his breathing, no emotion could be read on his face. The Dark Lord spoke again "Now, with your fleets lost, and your friends destroyed, there is no escape." Another switch of his fingers and the throne's arm opened. He guided a slender silver handle to ground beneath the warriors. "Though not my preferred weapon, here is one for you to use. Strike me down, or each other, or be destroyed. Nothing will stop my ascent. But you can choose to rule with me, as a Sith, and I'll be everything you'll need." He spoke to them both. Kylo recognized the saber from long forgotten archives, it resembled his grandfather's as a Jedi, but bore more black, and spit out a crimson blade. "My last apprentice was weak, but he his raw power with a saber made countless tremble. As my instrument of fear, Vader wielded this saber without inhibitions. My new apprentice shall do the same. Now you both must fulfill your destiny, and take Vader's place at my side!"

Kylo turned from the saber to face Rey. He saw her face full of rage, her emotions unbalanced and unhinged. Meanwhile, he heard the echoes of fallen Jedi, younglings screaming in fear, saw the shame in Luke's face that fateful night, and heard Leia whisper is real name once again. He was startled. He thought: How is the light here with me now? I'm the darkness, I'm the heir to my grandfather. Why am I not embraced by the darkness?

Rey could barely calm her breaths, she called out through the Force her mentors, but heard nothing. She thought: Why is the light not with me? Where's my guidance, where are the Jedi? She felt the darkness within her thoughts. It whispered to her everything she's wanted. Her anger and hate swelled. Rey's eyes met Kylo, and she reached for Vader's saber through the Force. The crimson saber ignited and blanketed the surroundings in blood red light. Kylo switched on his unstable sword, and they engaged in a duel in the throne room as Sidious smiled in delight.

XXXIII

With the stormtroopers thinned out, Finn and those remaining beside him booked it towards the hangar bay. Occasional matches between fighters would spring, but Finn maintained the advance. The destroyer was unusually unstable, and their transport was under heavy bombardment. Finn's battalion engaged the stormtroopers to help.

Rose was thankful the turrets rained cannon fire on the TIEs, it at least kept them from having to dodge fire. Stormtroopers were thinning as the last two transports weren't followed by more for several minutes now. Rose unleashed her pistol as she led her troops to the offense. Her accuracy inspired her fighters, she was truly an heir to Organa's legacy. She was filled with fear though. All of their batteries were near empty, and there wasn't enough to end the troopers that had come to meet them outside the palace. She pressed on.

Chewie was roaring beside Lando as they tried to peel away from the gravity well of the cannon. It continued to swallow cruisers and fighters whole; a huge Mon Calamari cruiser was inching closer to the green abyss. Dameron continued to issue order for retreat, his fighter circled around the Twilight trying to cover his fighters from the hail of turbo lasers from the destroyer and the cannon.

Once the heavy cruiser was swallowed the abyss stopped and the green light spiraled inwards. As the light concentrated towards the center, a colossal projectile emerged the size of a freighter. Black hull, rippling red and purple energy ripped across it as the green light jettisoned it. It torpedoed towards the Twilight with rapid speed. When it struck the densest part of the hull, the light was a blinding ball of green energy. Like a seismic charge, it rippled massive energy on a horizontal plane, shredding every single thing in its way for kilometers upon kilometers. TIEs, Resistance fighters, freighters and cruisers were torn to shreds as the Twilight split in half and spiraled into space in different directions.

XXXIV

Rey caught glimpse of the destruction during her duel, it only fueled her anger. Everyone she loves and cares for is in the crosshairs of the darkness. Nothing can escape it! It will always win! These thoughts made her sick of the Jedi hubris, they were blind to the power of the darkness. Her rage channeled through the fallen Sith's saber. Kylo fended her off, barely. Their swords crossed.

"Rey, you're unbalanced, you need focus! The emperor is tempting you with power he won't share, don't give in!" He was surprised by his own words. Just before they arrived, he was ready to usurp. But the conflict within was so deep. "No Kylo, he won't share it, but with it, I can end this all! I'm tired of the lies, the false promises! I will lose everything and I just can't anymore!" Her rage carried her words. Her strikes pummeled Ren so he could only defend himself. Sidious was cackling as he watched while the Sith troopers silently guarded their master.

"Yes, Rey, your hate makes you powerful! Strike him down and you'll harness the power you seek to save your friends!" The emperor wheezed again as his subjects races to aid him.

With everyone focused on the duel and the Sith, no one noticed a blue astromech droid quietly approaching the Devastator's control console. Stowed away with Rose, crushed by the loss of his compatriot, his memory bank was refreshed after entering the former Jedi temple. Once he reached the console, his controller entered the port, and he searched for override commands. He had an idea.

XXXV

Finn barely regained consciousness before feeling the sprinklers soaking the hangar. Fires rages across the halls, ships pinned them to the ground, and sirens were static then would blare. The ship had to have been hit, he thought. We were hit so hard, where's the transport? As he look up from the ground, he saw the transport was on fire, shrieking from melting metals. He sighed heavily, seeing most of his battalion and dozens of stormtroopers dead or unconscious around him. Once he got steady on his feet, he looked out the hangar shield, thankfully it was up. They were plummeting towards the planet, caught in its gravity. Finn was terrified, and tried to wake others to gather shelter.

Hux was bloodied by the shrapnel that littered the bridge. Most of the destroyer personnel was killed by the blast, while the bridge was engulfed in flames. Their screens showed more than half the ship was missing, with most of the sections under fire. He struggled to reach the viewports, only to see the harrowing green light had returned, and they were being sucked in faster than before. He looked around, took in his fate and breathed a sigh of relief. He chuckled softly, spat out blood, and crossed his arms behind his back. The green light enveloped the bridge, blinding Hux and the personnel that were left. "Long live the First Order." Those were his last words before the cannon pulverized the remainder of the Twilight.

Rose caught the hurling ship fragments inbound from the atmosphere. Though covered in flames and smoke, she knew it was a Star Destroyer's hull. It was hurling towards the ancient and former galactic senate building, several kilometers away from the fallen palace. She urged half of her battalion to head that way and prevent any further stormtroopers from advancing, if there are survivors. More so, she had a feeling Finn was on board. She was very worried.

XXXVI

R2 reached the codes critical to his next move. As the weapon was charging, he changed the calibration to strike at its home planet. Exegol, it read from the last recorded trajectory. The codes allowed the droid to take control, but care was to be exercised, or someone may take notice.

Rey was relentless with her assault, her combination of saber strikes and forces motions prevented Kylo from gaining any ground. The Dark Lord laughed from behind his troopers. The last Skywalker spoke again "You won't win Rey. Palpatine wants us dead. We are a threat to him, that's why he brought us here. There's no power for us!" He circled around as she matched from across the throne room. "The Jedi lost by challenging the darkness. The Sith lost by believe it no light was left to snuff out. We are neither Sith or Jedi. Let the past die Rey. The Force made you to bring balance back as my grandfather tried. Sidious' return is unnatural and he'll only succeed if we give him what he wants!" Ren continued to reason with the enraged last Jedi.

"We were brought here to have unlimited power. With it, we can end the galactic suffering and bring back order! I've lost everyone, and everything. Now I know why Anakin became Vader. The fear of loss is the path to the dark side, and I fear I must embrace its power to save my friends." Rey exclaimed those words, with tears down her face.

"Yes! Oh, my child, now you see your destiny! Now, end the last Skywalker, and become my new apprentice!" The Sith Lord was full of strength and rage, his harness anchored him to the front of his troopers. He intensified his gaze and goaded the last Jedi. Before he could relish in the fight, alarms blared throughout the chamber.

XXXVII

The cannon, charged once again with countless ships and batteries, focused its projectile beyond Coruscant. As the golden engines thrusted it to a new trajectory, Poe and the Resistance fighters fled the field enough to miss the perimeter of destruction that was about to be unleashed. Once the green light glared and the black hull shot out, it jumped to lightspeed, and left the system entirely.

"Noooooo!!" Sidious roared with such intensity as his Sith throne world, Exegol, was crushed and blasted beyond recognition. His cultists, clones, destroyers and countless fighters, were atomized within seconds. Ren and Rey stopped fighting to watch on the projectors what happened to this hidden planet. Sith troopers were astonished, and his subjects scattered to stabilize his condition. A faint whirring beep caught the Sith's attention.

He turned his harness and caught glimpse of the droid his fallen apprentice had decades ago as a Jedi, and his son after him when he destroyed the first Death Star. From his skeletal finger tips exploded a barrage of force lightning that caught the droid. From the behind the throne, R2 was able to initiate one last command before the Sith caught him. The lightning ripped across the circuit boards and blue white chassis, his whines and sirens blared before going quieter. With a grim expression, the Sith roared and ancient Sith call, and his lightning engulfed the famed astromech droid, his red indicator light dimmer, and the intensity caused his body to crumble into scrap on top of charred stone. In spirit, the droid joined his protocol friend.

XXXVIII

Lando and Chewie brought the Falcon a cross the cannon, leveling several turbo lasers as the main weapon recharged and started angling towards Coruscant. So many lives have been lost this battle, without much gain on any side while this invincible cannon remained unchecked and destroyed innumerable people.

Rose's second battalion reached the remains of the destroyer. It pummeled through the top of the former senate building, slicing easily to where the former councilors met in congress. Though a decrepit shell, sprinklers and alarms sprung to life as Resistance troopers raced to the hangar door. It a had sealed sheet when the shield gave out, but welders began to tear through the heavy armor. Rose commed in, telling them to let them know who they find and who survived. She prayed Finn was alive. Blaster fire encircled her squad just outside the palace entrance. As she fended off more stormtroopers, she noticed the green light had returned, and was turning to face the planet surface. She exclaimed and urged her battalions to hurry up so they could escape.

Finn woke to who looked like friendlies around him, but with so much crashing around, his mind could barely process his surroundings. He tried to stand but couldn't feel his legs working. White robe friendlies, with cauterize torches, were working on the ground around his legs. He wondered what they were doing. Once he was injecting with an adrenaline enhancement, his senses focused and heightened. He tried to stand again but couldn't muster the strength. Well, he had the strength, but he looked to see his legs, just above the knee, were being cauterized by medics. He lost his legs. A TIE wing had blown of and sliced them off upon impact on the planet. He went into shock and was given a sedative as the medics scoured for a mobile bed to carry him back to base.

XXXIX

Sidious urged his technicians to reverse the cannons next target, but they died one by one telling him the codes were encrypted and could not be stopped in enough time. Sith troopers were executed left and right as they failed their master's orders. Cultists rushed to ease the emperor's fragile condition. The Dark Lord reached for the two warriors through the Force, pulling them closer to him, but something unnatural happened. From pulling their physical bodies, his power reached so far through the Force to tap into their ancient bond of prophecy.

"Impossible. The Force bond between you is the prophesied dyad, a bond stronger than life itself!" Following those words, he felt their life forces enter his body, with flesh and bone and muscle restricting over rotten limbs. Through the Force, he reached again with greater intensity, suspending the two warriors as their life forces were depleted. The Sith cackled, his eyes a vivid yellow and orange, his flesh and appendages returned. He was released from his harness for the first time in over 35 years. He stood in his dark robe, cackling as their life forces reformed and brought him back to full strength. "Your bond, its strength, has brought back the one true emperor!" As the Sith headed towards the throne, he walked over the near lifeless bodies of Kylo and Rey, they lay side by side nearly dead.

Sitting on his mammoth throne, Sidious, at full power, reveled in his victory. Through the Force, he ripped open the dark chamber ceiling and exposed the colorful night sky. Far above the sky was the ensuing battle around his Devastator cannon. "Come and watch my young warriors and subjects. Now you will witness the full power of the dark side of the Force!" He's dark smile below his glowing eyes looked to the skies as he stretched his arms and hands upwards, unleashing a colossal storm of force lightning.

XL

The crackling startled Rose as she witnessed the torrent of power surging to the the space above. Her battalions had thoroughly pushed the FO troopers back, their numbers were dwindling. She had a sigh of relief as her second battalion returned, and she cried seeing her friend in tow. As she ran towards him, her smile turned to pain, seeing that he lost his legs, was battered and bloodied and bruised. She held him tenderly. Finn held Rose tight, tears streaked their faces as they sighed and looked in each other's eyes. This kissed and embraced. Palace wide sirens wailed around them. "Orbital bombardment imminent! Evacuate immediately!" They looked to see the green light dimming. The cannon was preparing to fire again.

Lando and Chewie continued to fend of TIEs as more fighters attempted to flee the gravitational pull of the cannon as well as the impending doom from another blast. Then the blast of lightning rippled across space and through the Falcon, rendering it and every ship around them incapacitated. No controls or buttons were responding, and the gravity of the planet and cannon were dooming every fighter to death. What is going on?! What is this lightning?!

XLI

As the Sith Lord cackled before them, flanked by what Sith troopers survived, Rey and Kylo woke and turned towards each other. Their eyes could hardly focus, their bodies ached and were weakened from being siphoned of their vitality. The Supreme Leader whispered "This is the end. It's over. We are going to die here." Rey managed a tear, and without flinching, Ren brushed it from her cheek. His touch felt electric, full of energy and hidden strength.

She held his hand to her face and whispered back "Ben, please, I know you're there." The last Skywalker teared up as well, her fingers caught the streaks down his cheek. "I haven't had the strength to do what I must until you came into my life. You reminded me of who I was, and I chose to betray my family. I can never forgive myself." She reassured him "They have forgiven you. They loved you Ben, and their love can ignite the stars." He held her hand, they closed their eyes as the lightning lit up the chamber around them. Subconsciously, through the Force, they tapped into their bond and revitalized each other.

The young warriors slowly rose to their feet, clutching to each other for reassured strength. Once stabilized, they tapped the Force for their sabers. In their hands, and ignited, the Sith troopers cocked and aimed their cannons at them. The Dark Lord ceased his destructive storm and faced them. "Your feeble skills are no match for me, children. I bear no saber to match you in combat, but you're both unmatched in my power with the dark side!"

As Sidious walked from his throne to face them, they charged at the Sith. Without flinching, barely changing his breathing, Sidious outmaneuvered and overwhelmed the warriors through his supreme mastery of the Force. Each potential strike, blow and slash cut only the air they shared. When they came close to his person, the Sith channeled the Force and controlled the sabers away from him. He hurled the combatants across and around his throne room. He cackled at their attempts to kill him. Combined and separate, they couldn't catch him.

He hurled them both away, took their sabers and crushed them with the Force. The Dark Lord unleashed lightning at Ben, and he caught it in his palm, struggling to control the surging energy orb as the Sith intensified his barrage. Rey attempted to Force push Palpatine, but his senses caught her and the Sith master pinned her down with more lightning.

Rey shrieked in agony, her attempts to deflect or capture Sidious's dark energy were futile. He was interrupted when Ben thrust the collected energy towards the Sith and it sent him flying across the throne room. He wailed in surprise, and rose to his feet enraged. Through the Force, he gained control of every Sith trooper blaster and began firing at them both. Without sabers, they used their powers to evaporate the bolts, channel them towards the troopers, into the walls, and at the blasters themselves. Every bolt couldn't be missed, and the Sith gleefully watched them struggle and get skimmed across their bodies by bolts they couldn't control accurately.

XLII

The Falcon roared towards the cannon, the projectile was about to fire from the green abyss. There was only one way to end this destruction. After ordering a full retreat, Lando and Chewie turned off their communications and prepared for light speed. Their coordinates were the cannon.

Poe screamed into the comlink, begging for the Falcon to respond. He feared the next move those two were making and tried to signal them manually. But nothing was swaying them. BB-8 set coordinates to touch down on the palace harbor. He watched as the Falcon rounded around and aimed at the mammoth cannon. He increased thrusters to avert the imminent blast. Before reaching the atmosphere, Poe witnessed the Falcon jump to lightspeed, echoing the late Admiral Holdo, as the notorious ship rammed the projectile within the weapon's barrel.

Sidious felt the disturbance, thrusting the warriors aside and fixed his gaze above them. The blast was intense and colossal. His ultimate weapon, yet again, was sabotaged and destroyed into a cataclysmic blast that was too close to the planet. The green energy ripped apart the sky, and slowly sliced deep through the planet surface. The radius would reach his palace spine enough.

XLIII

As Rey and Ben gathered themselves to charge again, catching a glimpse of the blast, they saw the fear in the Sith Lord's eyes. This was their moment, their shatter point to end this once and for all. They looked at each other, nodded in acknowledgement, and charged the Dark Lord. Rey and Ben, warriors of destiny, reached through the Force together and suspended Sidious in the air above his throne. The fearsome lord shrieked and roared as he struggled to resist their grasp. His force lightning ripped from his finger tips and through their bodies. Their clothes charred and smoked, their skeletons shined through their flesh as the Sith intensified his desperate attempt to counter. The two of them cried in agony, reaching to hold one another steady. Rey's knees buckled, but her hold was firm on Sidious. Ben joined her, holding her to his side. Rey screamed and brought her other hand up to deflect the lightning. It was successful. The Sith cried in agony as his own power was deflected back to his revitalized body. His robes and body were ravaged by his immense power.

The ground around them was quaking uncontrollably. The blast radius ripped through the former senate sector and tore apart the Jedi harbor. Rose had narrowly led her soldiers, with Finn in tow, on the FO transport they hijacked from the destruction. Their transport shook violently as the thrusters jolted them out of the atmosphere. Rose and Finn, hand in hand, prayed Rey was away from the blast.

Sidious, charred and blackened from his Force lightning was no longer screaming. Instead, his cackle echoed through the chamber. He didn't relent from his onslaught while the two warriors kept him in suspension. Their plan was clear to him, and his physical fate was obliteration. The pain of his powers ceased as his weapon atomized his body while his palace was sliced apart and crumbled around them. Red Sith troopers were littered across the chamber, tanks and vials shattered, the throne was scattered pebbles, and the deafening shriek the blast made pulverized every window above.

XLIV

Ben coughed up blood, pushing a boulder from his body that pinned him to the ground. His skin was charred from the lightning, while every muscle ached. Nothing matter but finding her. Through the Force, he delicately moved the chamber rubble to try and uncover Rey's whereabouts. Where is she?! What happened to her?! Ben was afraid, he had lost so much from his own mistakes. She can't be gone, he thought. Near where the fallen emperor was destroyed is where he found her.

Charred like he was, her skin was peeled away across her cheek. The boulder pinning her down had crushed her left arm. She was hardly breathing, coughing up blood as well. Once he freed her, her lifter her to his side. They couldn't speak, nor did they need to. The silently sobbed, his arms holding her to him, her right arm embracing his waist. In their embrace, the Force surged around them. Their powers united, their breaths steadied. The blood stopped coming out, exposed flesh sealed. The dyad in the Force, power unseen for thousands of generations, protected them from death.

They had to steady each other up the rubble and back to the surface. Once the sky hit their eyes, the devastation was unbelievable. Shrapnel, countless structures and ships littered the space above, flaming parts were like comets striking the surface. A colossal chasm reached as far as anyone could see where the blast split the planet apart. Millions of inhabitants were dead, injured, bloodied and displaced. Countless fire ships and medics rushed to aid while pirates were already looting. Chaos was unleashed upon the planet, and the galaxy yet again.

Rey had tears streaking her charred face, Ben steadied his breaths as he guided her by his side. What remained of the palace was crumbling by the moment. They made their way to a devastated former audience chamber. Decades ago, it was where Jedi initiates were heightened to Knights, and during the Empire, where those Jedi were slaughtered. The echoes haunted the both of them. Tremors through the Force brought them unease. They closed their eyes in thought.

XLV

Poe caught the FO transport jettisoned from the surface, his attempts to hail the ship were returned with static and broken voices. Was that Rose? The pilot urgently needed the static to cease and prayed to hear his friends. "Rose, to Dameron, we are on board, please respond!" His face glowed with hope and excitement. "Rey is still missing, we need to go back! Finn has been hurt!" His excitement turned to panic and concern." Calling on his squad leaders who survived, he led his fighters back to the Imperial palace. Please be alive Rey, please, was his thought as they cleared the smoldering atmosphere of the devastated planet.

The X-Wings in the distance could barely be made out as Rey squinted beyond the surging fireball carcass of the emperor's cannon. Ending her meditation, she looked to Ben. He was battered and bruised, charred streaks against his body. He opened his eyes after sensing her gaze. They looked down at the imperial emblems, the destroyed Sith emblem within the cavern where the Dark Lord dissipated. "This has to end Ben. You were right. The Sith, the Jedi, all of it must stop. Look what has become of the orders. The endless wars, this war, has destroyed everything in its path. And for what, for power? There's no power here, there's no power gained from the destruction around us!" The last Jedi was exhausted saying her words.

XLVI

Ben stood and calmly paced the chamber, listening intently, controlling his breaths. "The Jedi destroyed themselves, blinded by hubris when the Sith created the Empire. The Sith, before Bane, killed each other for power. After Bane, up to my grandfather, only two would continue to kill each other. And you're right, it was all for nothing." His pain laced through every syllable. "I was blinded by my rage, I killed my family for a legacy that I wasn't destined for. My destiny is yours. Balance. Master Luke, before I betrayed him, sought to remake the Jedi Order through balance of light and dark. After my grandfather died saving him, only my parents and Luke knew his legacy beyond when he was Vader."

Rey came closer to him, her presence eased his emotions. "Your mother and Master Luke balanced one another. Her inherent power was instinctive while Luke trained to expand his potential. He created the new Jedi Order while she fought to end Imperial holdouts and install peace after Anakin was turned. In the end, your grandfather's legacy was his love for his children. Their legacy is us, Ben." She tried to smile, know the emotional weight they bore was too heavy after this war. "I feel we are destined to honor their legacy. Not as Sith, and not as Jedi. But as who they were: Skywalkers."

Those three syllables struck a deep nerve within Ben. He spent so many years, killing innocents across the galaxy, to cultivate Kylo Ren. He meant to usurp Vader's mantle, and destroy Ben Solo. He failed, and he needed to fail. Rey called him a monster after he slayed his father, and before he killed Snoke. Yes, he knew he was a monster. And when he renounced his ways, he finally felt the presence of his grandfather since his apparition on the Death Star ruins. Anakin's regret and shame of his decisions because of fear became Ben's. He was a Skywalker after all.

"Skywalkers. A balance of light and dark. The light to guide us, and the dark challenge us." The thought of a new Order, not of Sith or Jedi, but of Skywalkers, was profoundly inspiring to Ben. "Like the Jedi, we seek peace and justice, only using violence to when needed to preserve it. But like the Sith, we allow our passions and emotions to exist, to bring us focus and strength as is necessary. No one is taken as children, but can volunteer and join as they wish. They adopt the Skywalker mantle as a surname. Never will there exist another Darth or Lord. Those with inherent power and those who seek to discover it, we Skywalkers will help them find balance within themselves."

Rey smiled, and reacted in agreement. "Here and now, as we choose to be, we are no Jedi or Sith. We are Skywalkers. In honor of the name we share, we strive for peace and justice for all in the galaxy. We owe allegiance to no government, but to the will of the Force, with us as its interpreters and enforcers. For better and for worse, we thank the Jedi and Sith for their lessons and histories, for they have shown us a better way, as a Skywalker."

Ben smiled and embraced her, they stood atop the battered palace not as Jedi or Sith, but as Skywalkers. The smoldering skyline of Coruscant was calming as debris settles down, and both of them began assisting those in need of help.

EPILOGUE

Ten Years Later

Finn was arguing with Rose again as to why he won't have mechanical legs. "They don't feel right to me, is all! I could feel my nerves itch when I had my temporaries and it drove me nuts! I get around just fine in my AT-AC (all terrain assistance chair), so please drop it." She smirked, her cheeks seasoned from yet another session of congress. As chancellor of the Second Galactic Republic for her first term, First Order insurgents were failing at developing another separatist movement, yet their sporadic attacks caused a headache.

Hosting the capital for this season, Naboo was such a tranquil planet to the weary senators gathered for congress. Finn, who sat on his wife's council, left her quarters to meet up with some visiting friends. His hair streaked with gray, which he would blame Rose for, and his chair hummed a shallow spud set that drove her crazy. She kissed him goodbye before her next meeting entered her chambers. He sped off to the lake country district, hoping to catch a drink before his meeting.

"Well, it looks like Her Excellency is causing quite more stress judging by how gray you're looking, pal!" Poe couldn't help but tease his friend. After another season of Naval command and cadet training, Admiral Dameron look forward to their annual gathering. He ordered them two drinks and followed behind Finn's chair. Republic citizens saluted the Admiral and shook hands with Finn as they passed, recalling what was by then called the Devastation of Coruscant some ten years ago. "Yes, we owe our lives to the galaxy for surviving." It pained them both talking about that battle. Too many lost for the sake of power. "Oh, looks like they already got here!"

The Skywalker padawans, breaking from their history lessons, played throughout the lake. Using the Force, they created profound rock formations, manipulated the waters into chasms, chasing each other throughout. Grand Masters Rey and Ben watched closest to the shore. Rey's hair braids reminded much of the elders of the former princess and general Organa, while Ben's towering figure and flowing black cape made them double take to ensure the fallen emperor's enforcer had not returned. They were at peace, married for almost nine years, and had made their way to Naboo to counsel the chancellor on the piracy and looting from flailing insurgents.

"Solo Skywalker, if you keep using the Force to show off for the boys, your elevation ceremony will have to wait until your past these parlor tricks." Rey chuckled and smiled at her son. Ben joined in her sentiment, wishing their son used his powers to not flirt. "We are here to help the chancellor and to teach you all about how the Sith began their plan against the Jedi. Now, please, lead the new padawans to our speeder." Solo rolled his eyes and began helping them towards the land cruiser off the shore.

"Hey, I remember him, he helped us get out of Cantobite Finn, don't you?" Rose ended her last meeting early and snuck in behind her friends. The young boy she was referring to, those thirteen years ago, still had the ring she left him bearing the former Rebel Alliance symbol from the Galactic Civil War. He caught glimpse of her, smile briefly, and entered the flanking shuttle.

As everyone gathered to rehash stories and refresh memories, Force apparitions appeared beyond the lake. Anakin, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke and Leia, in their respective Jedi robes, smiled upon the sight.

Yoda spoke first "Predict the end of the Jedi and Sith I did not. Failure of mine, it was, to think the Jedi needed to survive."

Obi-Wan next "Master, the Jedi continued only to fight wars that past. Our biggest mistake was continuing to wage wars that did not have to exist."

Anakin followed "I betrayed the Jedi and the Sith, and my regret was that I chose too late to turn. I can only hope they don't repeat our failures."

Luke, after his father finished "I repeated your mistake, father, by letting my fear target your grandson. His pain was avoidable, and I caused it."

Leia joined in "Look at them now, masters. As you said, Master Yoda, we are who they grow beyond. They are Skywalkers now, they see our mistakes and have chosen to not allow fear to influence their Order."

"Right, young Skywalkers are." Yoda conceded "Our way, there's is not. Right, there way is? Only the Force knows."

Each master Jedi nodded in agreement, and disappeared from the planet. The Skywalker masters had sensed their presence, respecting, and challenging, their guidance as they would appear throughout these last ten years. Before they boarded their land cruiser, both caught a glimpse of a dark hooded figure across the lake. It used a cane to traverse the land it struggled to maneuver. "What is it?" Rey asked her husband. "Nothing, it's nothing." Ben resigned. He couldn't decipher whether the Force let out a tremor or an echo, but he carried the feeling as they left towards the horizon.

END