Star Wars: A dyad in the Force Chapter 21: The Hidden Truths, a star wars fanfic

Warning: Major Spoilers of TRoS.

Note: This is a Reylo FanFiction (slow-burn)

「Act 21: The The Hidden Truths」

I walk a lonely road

The only one that I have ever known

Don't know where it goes

But it's only me, and I walk alone

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating

Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me...

Jakku, 36 ABY

In the cockpit, Poe was hitting one control after another, bringing the Falcon back online. It was already dawn, and the group of three men inside the Falcon, ready to depart for Jakku. Poe turned on the engines, and with each green telltale that lit up, a little of his own life did, too. He was startled when Chewbacca arrived and, without waiting, he settled down next to Poe, and Finn hit the switch and raced up the ramp. An enormous, overpowering thunder filled the cargo hangar as the Falcon's engines came to life. A second later, Falcon took off into the sky.

Poe had already informed Lando Calrissian about their departure and that the main reason they were taking this short journey was to find a new spy. Someone that could bring them all the information they needed. Of course, he didn't reveal anything about Ben Solo being alive. He left behind a very confused Lando: who could be that capable of sneaking into the Analyzer? The Analyzer was the First Order's main spaceship; it held information of all the remaining fleet of the First Order. Poe believed, though, that it might also keep hidden Sith's secrets.

Back in Jakku, it was already noon when Ben had awoken. The tears flowed unchecked down his cheeks and dripped from his chin. He was too sad to cry out or wail; he just stood there as still as a statue while the magnitude of his dream swept over him. He dreamed of Rey, she was around five years old, and her parents left her in a forsaken desert. The dream was so vivid, reminding him of Rey's memories. However, it was not what upset him. The dream continued with young Rey suddenly changing to the current one. Only that Rey seemed so much different.

Her eye and hair color was darker, and she was wearing a Sith Cloak. That Rey gazed at Ben and smirked mischievously, slowly leaning against his ear and whispering, "You're too late. She is mine now!" The voice echoed into his head as Ben woke up, and his nightmare weighed heavily. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes cast down with a mournful gaze. His mouth was set in a semi-pout. He ran his fingers over his face trying to wash the nightmare on his mind.

A year ago, when he was Kylo Ren, a dream like this would irritate him, even make him angry. At that moment, that flash of anger could protect him from the pain. But not today, he would try to summon his strength and stand on his feet. The injuries in his back were still killing him, and it took him a lot of his will to manage to stand and walk. He was already late to start scavenging. No rest for the weak. He thought as he was getting ready to leave.

"Those Memories were the soul torturer of the girl." suddenly came a familiar voice. "She couldn't escape them or hide from them; they were the worst kind of monster. To survive, she forgot them."

Ben was caught by surprise as the strong voice filled the area around them. He turned and faced the man who was gazing at the markings on the metallic wall that Rey drew when she lived in Jakku. "I reminded her. Because of me, she remembered her forgotten memories." Ben outlined as he took a few steps towards the man and stopped next to him, "What do you want?"

"She was scared of what her past held, all the memories that seemed never to escape her. Despite you, she would end up remembering. Palpatine would make her." the Force-Ghost said, "Ben! There are memories you can neither hide nor run or fight. Memories can be your worst enemy and most likely destroy you. Like yours."

"Is that the reason you are here?" Ben questioned his emotions turned - cold, fearful, anxious. He didn't want to discuss his memories and wrongdoings with anyone. And especially not with him. "In these moments, I am least proud of who I was..." Ben sighed, "Of who I am..."

The male figure cut Ben's way and stared seriously at him. "Ben, you are scared of your past. They are pinpoint needles, piercing your skin. You aren't fighting back; you just endure the pain. You had experienced pain before. Through all your life. But nothing amounted to this. When the guilt comes, you believe that the Force wants you here." the man grabbed both of Ben's shoulders and rocked him. "You are wrong. You will not find any answers in Jakku."

Ben pushed the man's hands away and freed himself from his hold. "This isn't what the Force wants?" he asked him. It seemed unfair that no matter how much he strived to be the man his conscience wanted him to be, it would keep taunting him with his wrongdoings. "Then what do you want me to do? To continue living my life as nothing happened?"

"No!" he uttered louder and bitter "Keep your failures as an example. Never forget what you did. Ben, the weight of your deeds will always be part of you. But don't use that as an excuse to hide in Jakku and allow any outlaw and criminal beat you to your death. That's not how you make amends for your former misdoings." he turned and pointed outside. "It's time to walk your path. If you can aid others through you, you should. Fight and stand next to those you once wronged. It's not about dying, Ben. It's about living."

"How?" Ben said, puzzled, "It's all part of me; I can't let go of the pain without losing something sacred. Am I even allowed to stand next to them? You know what I have done! You know better than anyone what I was!"

"It's a part of you now, Ben. You can't hide forever." the man took a step towards him and rested his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Face your fears, Ben! It won't be easy. But your life never was despite the previous Skywalkers failing to understand you. It's time for you to understand yourself. The answer was never the light or the darkness. It lies in the balance Ben. Like Rey and you are currently facing the Force. And even if Leia passed the Skywalker's legacy to Rey, you are the last Skywalker alive. Ben, it's time to fix your wrong-doings."

Ben dropped his gaze, ashamed "They didn't fail me. I failed them. My parents, Luke..." he mumbled, taking a deeper breath. "I don't know what I must do. I thought the answer was in Jakku. I believed the Force brought me here." Ben lifted his eyes and gazed at him. "Did you bring me back to life? Is this your doing?"

The man laughed, "Force-Ghosts don't have the power, Ben, to bring people back from the dead. Indeed, Luke and I guided Leia, before she vanished, to bring you back. And the Force accepted our wishes, and here you are." A grin spread over his face, wide and open, showing hope. "It's in our blood Ben to fall to the Darkside. An old curse had been given to my grandfather to make sure that the Skywalkers would never reach their full potentials. Luke was close to master his abilities. But the curse found him as well."

"A curse?" Ben quizzed, "Your words divergent; I mean, they pull in opposite directions as if your brain's narrator and navigator have entirely different ideas about the world. And maybe the reality you knew with the reality I know cannot be compared, but you confuse me. Over and over, I'm left to my tormentors before they have their fill and throw me back to you." He shook his head in disbelief. "Now, there is a curse? Luke's past? And a future I have to fight for?"

"There was always a curse Ben haunting the Skywalkers. You already had a taste of that." the man assured him. "Unfortunately, it was not your darkness that made Luke and Leia behave the way they have. It was Luke's past. Your uncle kept many secrets. You know Ben, Luke was married and had a son."

There were times Ben felt like the world was slowly disappearing in front of him. Or maybe it was just him who was fading away. But at this moment, the world that he knew shuttered into little pieces and disappeared. He leaned back against the nearest wall to manage to stand. "Luke had a wife? A son?" he asked, the bewilderment showing in his face, "I didn't know. What happened to them?"

"Luke used to leave them behind as he traveled with Han and Leia through the Galaxy to aid the New Empire. I believe he had felt the Force within his son. He did notice how powerful it was. But he never did see how dark Leo Skywalker was. His abilities and the Force within him were at greater levels than any Jedi or Sith in the known galaxy. Mother and son argued a lot. Neither Luke nor Leia took notice that it would ever be a problem. Until they returned from that journey. Leo had decapitated his own mother, and the stories saying that Luke killed him. But no one really knows what happened to Leo. I assume he is dead. Luke couldn't comprehend the fact that his own son killed his mother. Leia was devastated as well. After you were born, Ben, it only became worse as they felt the raw strength of the Force in you. And they acted upon it trying to protect you. Trying to avoid and create another Leo Skywalker." the man narrated him through Luke's past.

Ben was speechless; he was gazing at him with wide-open eyes lost in the story the man had told him. Now he could understand Luke. It made perfect sense now why he tried to kill him years ago. Why he and his mother tried to train him, he felt his heart heavier now, if Luke had explained to him years ago... Only if he knew. Ben would understand, and Snoke wouldn't have any chance of poisoning his mind. However, what's done is done. The past cannot be changed. Ben already knew that. The man's words wheeled into his head.

"There is more you aren't exposing, isn't there?" Ben suddenly inquired, "The curse? Luke's past?" he realized, "Is that why you need me out there? Grandfather, I need to know the truth. I need to know what I have to face?"

Anakin smirked, "Luke's past is Luke's, not yours! You already faced the curse and came back as Ben Solo. Ben, this is your journey. The only thing I can tell you is: to walk out of here and there you will find your answer. Don't stay in Jakku! This place was never meant for you."

Ben tried to reach Anakin, asking him more questions about the past and the curse, but he was gone. Ben stood in the middle of the AT-AT, rethinking what Anakin told him. His brain was trying to process all the new information he found out about Luke and his family. Each time the regrets reemerged, he would diligently analyze them again, hoping that this time his mind would be satisfied with his self professed remorse, but it never was. Like an unforgiving specter, it would be back tomorrow to haunt him all over again.

Moments later, Ben had decided that his grandfather was right. He was scared and hiding in Jakku. Indeed the way he was living it offered him a way out of his misery. A way to be able to live with his wrongdoings. But he couldn't hide anymore. The acknowledgment washed over him like the long slow waves on a shallow beach. Each wave was icy cold and sent shivers down his spine. How he longed to go back and take a different path, but now that was impossible. As long as he was living in Jakku, he thought there was no way back. There was no way to make it right. The remorse would eat at him every day of his life. He envied the pebbles, hard and lifeless, unable to feel the torments of life.

He was wrong.

Ben stepped outside, lifting his head and watching the open blue sky and the desert of the Jakku. Maybe there was a way to make things right, or at least he could try! That though repeated into his mind as he watched something approaching from afar. At first, it looked like a small dot on the horizon. A moment later, he noted that it was a space ship. And it seemed familiar.

Ben glanced upward, his mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. His dark brown eyes were fixed as if he was looking at a ghost. He froze as the Falcon landed a few steps away from him. It was like he was in a dream. It was years he hadn't seen the Falcon from so close. And the void. The black hole in his head, deep inside his soul, slowly swallowing all his hopes and dreams. That was the worst of those moments. The realization of the vacuum, the nothingness, the absurd of his existence. The moment of truth that he would not see his father walk out of it.

Suddenly the ramp opened, and the group of three walked out. Ben almost felt like his world was spinning, and he just wanted to sit down. He pulled himself together through the pain gazing at Poe, walking towards him as Chewie and Finn watched them standing on the ramp. Why was the acting General back in Jakku? His mind was spinning with all kinds of questions. And why would he bring the Wookie with him?

Poe strode confidently towards Ben, staring him directly in the eyes. He had a way of walking that made him seem in a perpetual hurry. His steps weren't long, but they were rapid. He reached Ben within a few seconds and gazed at him with certainty."We really need your help out there," Dameron said clearly, and solid "Jakku has nothing to offer you. We need you!"

「 Upcoming Chapter: Act Twenty-Two」

More than anything, thank you for taking the time to read this!

Feel free to Review and Follow!

Adelgado28: I think when Rey finds out, chaos will be unleashed. I hope in a few chapters; we will reach that point. And finally, have Rey and Ben share some time. Yup, there will be dramatic moments. Let's see how things will end up.

Guest: No, I am not planning to kill anyone from a broken heart. Don't worry about that.

Rainbow-33: The next chapter is out, and I am already writing act 22. I have posted a bit slower this week I was busy.

amyunder: Glad you liked the way I posted Poe's character. Keeping the characters close to canon isn't easy.