Author's Note: I cannot wait for you all to read this chapter! I had tears rolling down my face when I saw the first of JenniferLadyBug's amazing illustrations - links on my Tumblr at Erickawrites. I'm sure you'll guess which one when you see it. We've got a lovely way of making each other cry, don't we?
Next update will not be until mid-week next week unless a miracle happens (I know, a whole week!) But work is crazy, there are so many sick patients to see and I've had much less time for writing this week.
Thank you all for the wonderful comments, they are everything!
Lothal quaked below her feet as dark energy continued to course through her. She'd been drawing so hard on the Force for so long, she thought maybe it wasn't the ground moving at all and it was just her own body shuddering. But taking a glance at her friends, standing rigid with their eyes trained on the dirt beneath their boots, she knew it wasn't just her.
Then, suddenly, everything was still.
The trembling earth and the hiss of wind through the tall grass was replaced by an eerie quiet. Birds that had been flitting around in the low-lying shrubs were unnaturally absent now and she felt the gazes of her friends turn to her.
No. No!
How was it, that despite the raw power chasing through her veins, and the Force completely dominating her body and mind, Rey was still no closer to opening the gateway? She could sense it deep underground. She was so close, but the power wasn't enough.
Something whispered to her that it would never be enough. She needed to go further… the Dark Side was so much easier, so much power…
Emotion gripped her like a clenched fist around her throat, choking the air from her as she continued to dig deeper from the darkness, gasping for breath and shaking from the effort.
Her vision had begun to tunnel as a voice broke through her fury. Rey.
Ben's voice. That rich baritone that always managed to cut straight through to her no matter where she was.
His power manifested not long after his voice, wrapping around her darkness with the brightness of a neutron star. As soon as he swathed his warmth around the icy power she wielded, she sensed a change in the gateway. Where the ground merely quaked and writhed before, now, mercifully, she felt something shift far below her feet before the hard shell of Lothal's frozen crust began to crack.
I don't have much. Rey felt his weakness down the Bond, realizing how drained he already was. She tried not to imagine what had caused him to be so weak, as they continued to wield the Force in tandem, gripping the temple to free the gateway.
Something joined them, another source of warmth cutting through the chill of the Lothal tundra, and she recognized the Force signature. It was like sunlight on her back and she was surprised at his strength.
Finn.
Ice, starlight, and sunshine - and together they supported each other in the Force until the tip of a stone spire broke through the surface of the ground. They were all driven to step back as the temple continued to push up through the soil, like the great horn of some impossibly large creature emerging after a decades long slumber.
With trembling arms still extended, Rey grabbed for Finn's hand, continuing to leverage their Force against the stone and pushing the rest of it to the surface. They stumbled back to keep away from the rushing hiss of sand and debris cascading down the sides of the structure as the temple jutted farther into the hazy Lothal sky.
She couldn't see Ben, but she felt him as his Force was exhausted and he slipped back to the World Between Worlds. Even from the In-Between, she could sense his proximity now.
They were agonizingly close.
Rey blinked away the fog in her mind, shaking out her numb fingertips and lifting her chin to view the temple. Having reached its full height, it towered before them. The conical structure was tall enough to block the sun, casting a long shadow across the grassy plain. Even so, it was not the grand feat of architecture she'd imagined when she thought of an ancient Jedi temple. There was no intricate ornamentation, no fancy structural design. It could have been a grain silo for all she knew.
"That's it? That's the sacred Jedi temple?" Poe asked incredulously, dividing a glance between her and Finn. "It looks like an oversized termite mound."
But Rey couldn't answer. Exhaustion hung over her vision like a veil, and the only reason she was still standing was because of her stubborn unwillingness to release the icy fear in her chest. The fury was still there, and she clutched the Palpatine saber to focus it. If she didn't keep it coursing through her, she sensed she would stagger and fall, and maybe never get up again. Blood crashed loudly in her ears with each beat of her heart and she was stomping toward the temple entrance, carried by pure adrenaline.
From a distance, the opening was just a long vertical slash cut through the center of the temple. As they neared it though, she glimpsed the carefully fitted door deeply set into the stone.
Finn was first to reach a trembling hand toward the rusted door handle. It swung open unceremoniously with hardly a push. Poe and Rose exchanged nervous glances about the ease of their entry before the entire group slowly crossed through toward the center of the structure, shuffling forward nervously, half-expecting something horrible to jump out and block their path.
The air was cool and damp inside and the farther they went, the thicker the musty odor became. Besides the smell, the only hint that this temple had remained underground for decades was the thick layer of dirt coating the stone floors. Strangely, the stonework walls and flooring were still intact, not a single slab was out of place.
The vaulted ceilings rising up toward the peak of the temple trapped the rhythmic tapping of their footsteps and sent the sound echoing up the open spire over their heads. As they continued inside, and the doorway was left farther and farther behind, Poe was forced to retrieve his flashlight from his belt to guide their way. Finn lit Ben's saber and Rey held hers out in front of her to see where they were going. She kept her other hand tightly gripped around the Palpatine saber at her waist, just in case.
There was no question about their destination as they neared the spire's center supports and were awed by a perfectly preserved mural set against a towering wall that rose the length of the temple. The mural was at least four times as tall as she was and depicted three figures - The Ones. And they were just as Ezra had described.
The Daughter, dressed in white to signify the Light, stood to the left. The Son, dressed in black to signify the Dark, stood to the right with his fist outstretched. And finally, the Father loomed in the middle to represent Balance. A pack of loth-wolves was depicted, outlined in gold, some sitting on their haunches, others lounging at their masters' feet. The Ones stood in front of a background of concentric circles and geometric patterned lines which Rey could immediately see was meant to represent the World Between Worlds.
Her heartbeat quickened as she stepped forward toward the mural. Her friends watched in silence, not daring to move. Rey breathed deeply, trying to bury the fury and terror churning inside of her, quieting her thoughts to listen as Ezra had instructed, and she placed her palm against the Daughter's open hand.
She reached out through the Force, opening herself to the expanse of energy all around. But all she could hear were the dark whispers in her mind, all she could feel was the frozen fury in her belly. She tried once more, drawing deeply on the Force, but it was like trying to use a circular spanner on a squared bolt.
Nothing happened.
Fear shot like a frozen arrow through her heart and she started backwards. Rey clenched her teeth as tears began to prick behind her eyes. Helpless. She was helpless to get to him. They'd come all this way and the gateway was locked to her. Because she wasn't strong enough.
And she was so kriffing tired of this feeling.
Finn gave her a concerned glance, biting his lip before he stepped forward toward the Daughter's hand.
If she wasn't strong enough to open the gateway, there was no way Finn would be. But her friend was as stubborn as she was, and she wouldn't deny him the ability to try. So, she watched as he placed his palm against the mural as she had done and waited for the inevitable non-response from the Force.
A whisper hissed in her mind. Speak to the Son.
She recognized the robotic drawl as Malak's voice, and yet, she obeyed, unable to accept that the gateway could remain closed to Ben. The risk of working with the Sith was worth the reward.
So, with Finn's palm pressed against the Daughter's hand, she followed the whispered command and pressed a fist against the Son's.
Light and Dark. Peace and Anger. It swirled around them, wreathing their heads in power as the golden halos encircling the hands of the Daughter and Son illuminated. The mural moved, like gears clicking into place in a giant timepiece, the circles and intersecting lines illuminated and aligned. When the geometric patterns had rotated into complete alignment, a powerful golden pulse radiated from the center outward.
Faint voices filled Rey's mind as the mural seemed to come alive.
We are the Ones. The beginning.
The golden loth-wolves stirred, sitting up and pointing their snouts to the sky, howling their ghostly calls to the echoing walls. Then, they rose to all fours, striding from their places in the mural across the stone. Like paintings come alive, they padded down the darkened corridor, sticking to the stone as they led the way into the darkness.
Her friends' mouths were all agape as they trotted after the painted wolves. Finn was first, seemingly entranced by the movement of the creatures, following them closely and stopping suddenly as the wolves halted and began to chase each other in circles against the stone wall. Faster and faster they went, until they had reached a sprint, following after each other in a giant circle as they slowly became…
A gateway.
The wolves had become a portal and Rey could now hear the voices of the Sith rising into a cacophonous drone of whispers, closer now than ever.
Before she could order him back, Finn had reached out toward the center of the gateway. As his hand passed through the stone, a bolt of lightning coursed up his arm. He winced with what looked more like shock than pain and glanced once over his shoulder at her before stepping through the gateway.
"Finn!" Poe was running headlong toward the portal, which became solid as soon as he touched it, and he slammed into the stone, staggering back to the floor.
Chewie offered a hand to help him up and Poe wobbled to his feet, rubbing his forehead. "Of course I can't just walk through the damn thing," he mumbled. "That would be way too kriffing easy."
Rey took one more look at her friends and stepped through the gateway after Finn. She heard Rose calling her name, but it was swallowed by the blackness of the In-Between as she emerged on the other side.
It was just as she remembered from the Great Tree's vision. A midnight void dotted by stars and cut through by blinding white lines, and behind her, a circular gateway leading back to Lothal. They'd done it. They'd opened a path to the World Between Worlds.
The weight of this victory sagged her shoulders and she could have collapsed from relief. And she would, as soon as she found Ben.
She knew he was close, she could sense…
"Ben!"
His robes were more tattered than before, torn at the chest, and his outer robes were disheveled, but there he stood farther down the path. He was really here. And she didn't hesitate, sprinting toward him with the power of her pent-up fear to propel her.
Ben finally seemed to register that Rey was actually there, as he shook his head, knitting his dark brows together and ran toward her, too.
When they met in an embrace, she realized that the Force projection she'd been settling for was nothing compared to the solid warmth of his real body against her. His energy hummed everywhere around her and through her, enveloping her in his presence. The fabric of his robes draped over her shoulders as he brought his arms up to encircle her completely. The heft of his solid form was striking in this moment, as she understood that what he'd been trying so hard to give her was but a shadow of what he actually felt like, strong and sturdy, flesh and blood. Now, here he was, her perfect mirror in the Force. Here was the man that she loved.
She pulled back to cup his cheeks in her hands, his eyes, those beautiful fierce eyes, powerful and needy all at once were so much sharper here. Tears clouded her vision and she swallowed against the building emotion, recalling the last time she'd seen him this way. Just before he'd collapsed on Exegol.
No. Never again. She would not lose him again.
And she pulled him down to her, pressing a promise against his lips that she would never let him go. He responded with a perfect caress of his own, his mouth fitting against hers like a missing part of herself. Stars, he felt so good, tasted so good. And she could have let her passion envelop her right then, had he not pulled away much too soon.
"We have to hurry," he said, taking her by the bend of her elbow and practically towing her toward the gateway.
She was halfway there before she remembered. "Finn!"
He shot her a look that twisted at the fear in her chest, reminding her that she hadn't shed those cold feelings yet. His dark eyes were wide, his lips drawn into a tight line.
Ben Solo was terrified. "What? Where is he?"
Rey cast about in the darkness, looking down each path but seeing no trace of her friend. "He entered the gateway first. I thought..."
She went silent as something shifted in the Force. It started as a slow pull, like a breeze blowing in the opposite direction, a light tug on her energy. But soon, the feeling was magnified, and Rey clutched her chest to keep from staggering.
"Oh Gods." Ben's voice caught in his throat, half-choked as he turned to look over his shoulder. She'd never heard him so afraid and Rey knew what she would see when she turned.
The Sith.
Darth Nihilus, the specter in that chilling mask skimmed across the floor and Rey realized it was he who was causing the disturbance. Now that he was close, the gentle, easy tug on the Force had intensified. It pried at her energy now, the weight of his unnatural strength shocking in its potency. Nihilus was a black hole, and everyone around him was helpless to defy his gravity.
Behind him, Malak stood with his lightsaber brandished across Finn's throat. He raised his eyebrow expectantly in Ben's direction as he approached.
Malak's metallic voice carried over the drone of his weapon as he continued to gaze at Ben. "How cute that you let this one hold your lightsaber, Solo."
Rey glanced down to Ben's saber hilt, still gripped in Finn's hand. He didn't dare activate it with a plasma blade held to his neck. Malak readjusted his grasp on her friend's arms, his scarlet blade buzzing close enough to singe the collar of Finn's coat.
Ben didn't respond to Malak's jab. In fact, he showed no outward reaction whatsoever and was keeping his Force clamped down tight. He knew better by now, having likely learned his lesson the hard way.
Rey was filled to the brim with her own rage as she imagined the torture he'd endured. It took everything she had to keep from charging at the Sith in that moment. But Rey knew they needed to do this together.
First, Ben needed his lightsaber.
She felt Malak and Nihilus reaching out, trying to cinch that icy noose tighter around their connection, but even the Sith couldn't completely silence the Bond, and Ben's voice was in her mind. I'm going to pull my saber from Finn. Get him free and we'll run. I'll cover you.
She wanted to scream at him that she would cover their retreat. He'd suffered enough, and if this didn't work. Well, she couldn't even consider that.
But his hand was reaching out and his saber flying through the darkness already. Rey sprinted toward Malak, activating both of her weapons and blocking the Sith's overhead slash with a cross of both blades.
Finn was able to stumble back as Malak was engaged and that was when Ben charged.
She expected brutish swings of his saber, pure power and strength as dictated by the Djem So form that he'd used as Kylo Ren. But even his combat had shifted, and he moved much more fluidly, a perfect compliment to his newly balanced blade as he slashed an arc in the space Nihilus was occupying.
Nihilus' blade seemed to materialize from nowhere, in a flash of scarlet it crossed with Ben's pure white saber in a well-timed parry. But Rey didn't have time to watch them duel, because Malak had pulled away and was now crashing another blow down over her head.
Rey rolled, pulling on the darkness to power her body, coming out of her somersault with sabers blazing, slashing wickedly into Malak's side. He deflected the blow with the Force, sending her backward.
This wasn't going to work. They needed to use their advantage.
Rey reached out to Ben down the Bond, remembering how they'd used their connection to defy the odds in the past. They were a Dyad. They wielded a link between space and time. They needed to use its full potential. They needed to work together.
She leapt over Malak, backflipping as she pulled on the darkness to lift herself higher and landed behind Ben. They had taken on eight Praetorian guards when they'd hardly understood their connection. He'd defeated Snoke and his Knights of Ren. She'd defeated her grandfather. Since then, their Bond had only grown. They could do this.
Ben sensed her intention and pressed his back to hers. Focusing on the golden thread of their connection, she could read his purpose, feel the shift of his body and the flex of his arm before each swing happened. She felt his reach through the Force, his energy twining with hers, light and dark, and she relaxed into him. Letting her walls collapse for him, but keeping an outer shell of defense against the Sith.
Something shifted in that moment. As though an ancient cipher had just been cracked and Rey felt the power of millennia coursing through her. She was not Rey and he was not Ben. They were something ancient, the Force of Ages. They were Balance.
They were One.
And when Ben swung again at Nihilus, Rey sent her Force rushing down their Bond to strengthen his swing. When Rey dodged a blow from Malak, she did it with the speed of two. She was seeing through two sets of eyes, fighting with two bodies but somehow, it felt natural, like she'd done it a thousand times before.
Ben's body charged with power and strength and Rey was with him. His Force, starlight flecked with darkness, was quickly gaining ground on Nihilus as he pushed back against the Sith's Force drain. Nihilus tried to strangle their Force, but couldn't get a grasp on it and Ben managed to Force-pull the saber from his hand. Rey's body, lithe and quick, wielded dual sabers in lethal strike after strike against Malak who stumbled back. All the while, she felt Ben with her. Her dark Force, now streaked through with bands of white-hot light, powered a shuddering push, sending Malak tumbling onto his elbows with a grunt, his weapon skidding across the floor.
Two bodies, one soul.
Memories coursed through the Bond in flashes and feelings. A masked Sith, red saber in hand and a young Jedi with a saber staff. Revan and Bastila. Their foes litter the ground and they stare at each other, their bodies finally crashing together in an embrace. Rey is the Jedi woman now as she reaches for the Sith's mask. It comes free and his black hair falls over needy, dark eyes. She drags her fingers through his hair, pulling him close. They are entwined in each other and the Force as their lips meet, and she is home.
Time flashes forward and Kylo Ren has her strapped to an interrogation chair. Something is stirring in Rey that makes her uneasy. Desire. His mind against hers feels so familiar and she has to bite down against the heat rising unbidden to the surface of her skin. He pulls his mask off and Rey knows she has seen those eyes before.
The same eyes in different people.
The realization hits both of them at once and they turn to face each other, gazes locked together.
There has only ever been one Dyad across the ages. And the Force has brought that Dyad back for something. For this.
They are Revan and Bastila.
This sacred moment of realization passed between them, both eternal and instant in the Force, and it was only when someone screamed that they both returned to themselves.
Malak and Nihilus were on the floor, beaten, staring weakly up at them, waiting for the death blow to take them. But over their shoulder, a third Sith had materialized from the In-Between and stood with an arm hooked around Finn's neck just in front of the gateway.
The cloaked Zabrak, with yellow eyes and a sneer painted with poison, lifted his saber staff in a silent threat.
Malak, wheezing at her feet, managed to choke out a stream of words that chilled her. "You have impeccable timing, Darth Maul."
