Force Dyad

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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Two-Final Farewell

Rey waited outside while Ben went into Skywalker's study to face his uncle alone. He didn't want Rey to see the distressing footage of how she got hurt. It had been bad enough viewing it himself. He certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing it again. The holographic images were already burned inside his mind forever.

"Ben?" Skywalker seemed slightly ruffled at Ben's unexpected entrance when he walked into the room without knocking. "I'm in the middle of something right now. Can't this wait?"

"No." Ben said curtly. "Don't worry I won't take up too much of your precious time, Uncle."

Skywalker sighed and rubbed his aching forehead as he motioned for Ben to take a seat. "Sit."

"I'd rather stand." Ben avoided looking at Skywalker directly as he stepped to one side, revealing the little orange and white droid who was hidden behind him. "I'd like to introduce you to BB-8."

Skywalker frowned as he slowly rose to his feet. "Where did this droid come from?"

"He's mine."

"Yours?" Luke asked suspiciously. "You know the rules, Ben. Any undeclared pro- "

"After today the rules will no longer apply to me." Ben cut in impatiently. "I'm leaving."

Words failed Skywalker. He stared into his nephew's dark brown eyes burning with anger, and his heart fell silent. He knew it was pointless trying to change Ben's mind. He was clearly set on leaving. Skywalker hated the feeling of relief that invoked inside of him. It was difficult to admit that he was glad that he would no longer be responsible for the troubled young man standing so righteously in front of him. He knew it would disappoint his sister, but Ben was no longer a child, he was a man.

"I told you that I would bring you proof that Voe isn't the perfect Jedi you think she is." Ben continued when Skywalker remained silent. "BB-8?"

The jittery little astromech wobbled slightly when he found himself suddenly in the spotlight. With Ben's encouragement he rolled further forward so Skywalker could get a better view of him. His dome head slid back on his circular body as he activated his photoreceptor and projected the holo image of Voe and the padawans in front of the apprehensive jedi master.


Ben turned his head away at the exact moment the holo image of Rey showed her collapsing on the ground after Voe's furious attack. His fists clenched at his sides as he tried to maintain his composure. "You can stop there, BB-8." He mumbled.

BB-8 immediately shut down the footage and rolled back to his side, emitting a low whistle as he did so. Ben glared at his uncle, waiting for Skywalker to say something. Instead, the jedi master seemed in shock, his lips turning bloodless as he pressed them tightly together.

"Do you have nothing to say?" Ben demanded. "Voe has been exposed. Now tell me what you're thinking!"

Skywalker's mind was blank and his eyes wide as he stared at his nephew in horror. Ben's eyes desperately searched … waiting. Skywalker knew he had to say something! He searched his mind for something reasonable to say, something to make sense of what he had just seen, but nothing came out. There was nothing he could say this time to excuse Voe, to defend her actions. Whatever her motivations, she had attacked an inexperienced padawan, and had physically injured her.

"Are you ever going to answer me?" Ben roared.

But Skywalker still couldn't will his lips to move. As if stuck underwater, everything was slow and warbled. He watched his nephew rake his eyes over him in disgust.

"You still can't admit you've failed. Can you?" Ben said scornfully. "You've focused all of your energy on mistrusting me, while ignoring the real perpetrator. I don't care what you do with her now. I only came here to prove my point. Goodbye, uncle."

Ben had reached the door before Skywalker finally managed to get his vocal cords to co-operate. "Ben…wait. Where will you go?"

Ben turned, but too slowly to be normal. When he answered his voice trailed slowly, like his words were unwilling to take flight. There was a sadness showing beneath the anger in his eyes, the brown too glossy. "I don't know where we'll go yet."

Skywalker's face turned ashen. "When you say we?"

"I'm taking Rey with me. You didn't really expect me to leave her behind, did you?"

"But you can't just take her- "Skywalker started to protest.

"Don't you dare pull the 'I'm selfish' card on me again, uncle. I won't let you guilt trip me again." Ben interrupted him harshly before he could carry on. "After everything that's happened recently you can't argue that this is a safe place for her to be. I'll continue her training if that's what she wants to do."

"She's a child, Ben." Skywalker said thickly.

"And that means she doesn't have a voice?" Ben retorted scathingly. "Instead of ignoring or overriding the wishes of younglings in your care, perhaps you should take the time to actually listen to what they have to say for once. You might actually learn something."

With this parting comment, Ben walked out of Skywalker's study with his head held high and BB-8 following faithfully in his wake. Even though he felt like slamming it, he closed the door quietly behind him, letting out a long sigh as he did so. It was like closing a difficult chapter on his past.

Rey was still waiting for him outside. He looked down at her expectant face and nodded. "It's done." He told her with a sense of relief. "We can go now."


In the gloom of the mess hall, with their knees almost touching under the narrow table, Rey whispered to Finn, telling him the sad news that she was leaving. He deserved to hear the goodbye from her. He was her closest friend at the academy and the one she would miss the most. It was hard to make herself heard above the din being created by the other padawans. She had a whole speech planned, a way to let Finn know that it wasn't goodbye forever and they would see each other again one day.

It was obvious he knew it was coming too. Rey saw the hurt welling in Finn's eyes as the smile disappeared from his face. His usual steady gaze flickered from her to the food lying untouched in front of them. Rey removed her elbows from the table and sat a little straighter. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Voe staring over at them. Wasn't she supposed to be restricted to her quarters? Unusually her white hair had been left un-braided and fell in loose curls around her face. There was a hostile look in her dark eyes as she continued to glare over in their direction, which sent a shiver down Rey's spine and made her feel glad that she was leaving.

"I don't understand why you need to leave as well." There was such sadness in Finn's voice that it made Rey feel guilty. "He's not your family, Rey."

"No…he's so much more than that." Rey couldn't explain her bond with Ben and why it was imperative she leave with him. Mere words weren't enough to describe the connection she felt to him and what he meant to her. All she knew was that she would shrivel up and disappear if she stayed behind and he left without her.

"But you're abandoning your training." Finn tried again.

"I'm not. Ben will oversee my training."

"But you're leaving all your friends behind…you're leaving me. Don't I matter?" Finn lowered his voice and his head. He began to play with the food on his plate as a distraction. "Its not going to be the same without you here, Rey. I'll miss you." He mumbled.

"Of course, you matter. You matter to me very much. And I will miss you the most, Finn." Rey caught his hand and held it between both of hers. "We'll see each other again soon. I promise."

Rey felt an overwhelming sadness swamp her as she looked at Finn's downcast face. Even though she didn't think of the jedi temple as home, she had many fond memories here, a lot of them including Finn. She knew she would savour each memory so strongly that it would be like they were together even if they were far apart. But right now, it was time to depart, and the continued hostility she felt coming in waves from where Voe sitting on the other side of the mess hall, convinced her she was right to go. Instinct warned her that Voe would continue to be an adversary in the future and she needed to remain vigilant when they inevitably crossed paths again.

"I have to go, Finn." Rey sighed as she let go of his hand. To her surprise, Finn surged forward and touched his lips to hers briefly. She stared at him as she saw the tips of his ears turn slightly pink. "Um…see ya." She mumbled as she pushed her chair back and rose to her feet.

"Bye, Rey." Finn said as he watched her go with a mournful gaze.


Ben knew better than to comment on the glistening tears drying on Rey's cheeks. He knew how hard it had been for her to say goodbye to the other padawans. He concentrated on punching in the co-ordinates into Grimtaash's navigation system as she strapped herself into the co-pilots seat. "I contacted Mags. She's looking forward to seeing us." He said in a neutral tone.

"That's good." Rey's voice tremored slightly as she spoke. She cast a guilty glance in Ben's direction. She knew he was glad to be leaving and didn't want to dampen his mood by crying like a baby just because she was leaving her friends behind.

Ben caught her gaze and held it. "It's okay to feel sad about leaving, Rey. You don't have to mask your feelings for my sake." His tone was full of empathy and it made her relax.

"I'll feel better soon." She promised.

"I know you will." Ben said with certainty as he blessed her with one of his rare smiles.

As soon as he smiled, Rey's fear whisked away like a bunch of tiny insects caught in a heavy gust of wind. Excitement rushed through her veins and for the first time since saying goodbye to Finn, she allowed to herself to look forward with renewed anticipation to the future.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.