Where Darkness Dwells

Physically, Rey knew they were still standing, holding onto the medical chamber.

But her soul tumbled through shadows.

The world became a blazing red pain. She could hear a man screaming as if his flesh were melting.

YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE

IT WAS SAID YOU WOULD DESTROY THE SITH

NOT JOIN THEM

BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE

NOT LEAVE IT IN DARKNESS

The words bombarded Rey's descent, knocking her in every direction until she almost floated, drowning in endless pain.

Fortunately, the Jedi came with an anchor.

"Hold On!"

The Doctor's words cleared the fog as strong fingers gripped Rey's hand. Together, they pushed through pain of another's past. Within those twisting shadows, Rey could see a strange plateau, beneath was a shifting sea of nightmares that promised only death or worse.

Reaching out, the Force came to her, a jagged connection but enough. As the corrosive sea tugged at, Rey resisted, managing to land herself and the Doctor on the structure's cliffside. A coldness clawed at her soul despite no wind, the storms of agony raged above. The sea tumbled, skeletal monstrosities clawed blindly for fresh prey within the waters, crashing into only refuge that was more than halfway submerged yet stayed afloat.

Placing her free hand on the smooth surface, Rey realized they were standing on metal.

Armor, some quieter part of herself whispered.

Instinct took over where other senses would have failed to comprehend the structure. It spoke of an image that nearly made her tumble into the abyss from shock. It couldn't be denied once dug in. Rey imagined great limbs, solitary embodiment of power that once made the galaxy tremble with fear.

"…Darth Vader…"

A hiss of bubbles breached the black bile below. The structure trembled beneath them. It started to get lower too. No, Rey realized with growing horror, it was shrinking! Any footing quickly vanished before she could even blink. The Force wove through the young Jedi, lifting both her and the Doctor.

Rey remembered to keep her focus, manipulation of ones body in space was only different in the mind compared to rocks. Willpower and focus kept from the horrific waters below. Leia's teachings helped the young but pressure already started to build. The Dark Side wasn't known for stability… this wouldn't last long.

Then she heard the laughter.

It was carried by raging winds of some cruel storm. A harsh cackling emphasized every syllable of joy. Its owner clearly found pleasure in seeing others in pain.

Wonderful

One word struck and almost made Rey tumble into oblivion. She grasped her lightsaber, not daring to ignite until defending herself became necessary.

You wait to be killed by the first move

The way of Jedi

The voice spoke of her path with venomous derision. That alone revealed its owner. A nightmare from thirty years past.

Yet… she recognized it…

You think that weapon offers protection here

Laughter shook the world.

The lightsaber you carry

Only proves how quickly light fades

Oh, the Betrayals it caused

Lives taken

… Even Children

The saber ignited without Rey's thumb. But the glow wasn't blue.

It was blood red, and bleeding.

She could hear the cries of younglings, begging for their lives before the sl—

"Rey, snap out of it!"

Instinct helped her activate the saber and block another blade. Thankfully, hers truly was blue as it clashed with a red reflecting the harshest fires of Mustafar.

Darth Vader towered above her. She had studied holovids from Leia's archives. Kylo's grandfather, the original Skywalker, a living machine of death. But his infamous chest sensors weren't lit up. In fact, there also no dreaded respirator hiss. This was more a shadowy shell than specter. Yet Rey's arm felt numb just from blocking on strike.

The Force gave no warning, Shadow-Vader swiveled his blade. A quick 'duck' saved Rey from being decapitated.

Foolish Child

Coming here, hoping to uncover some secret of the SITH

Those are found from within

Here, all that can be seen is my greatest weapon

A CAGE FOR FURY

NOW SUFFER IT

The grey skies brightened to illuminate an armada of Vaders hovering above, a thousand burning blades opposite the sea of black claws below. Both offered the darkest ways of death only Sith could provide.

It took the Doctor flailing about to pull Rey's focus from the horrific sight. The Blonde woman's eyes were clenched in agonized concentration.

"Rey," she rasped. "Is there a way out of this mental entrapment."

The question helped recalibrate Rey's overworked senses. It became easier to look past the armada of Vaders and sense where the illusion could be shattered.

"Yes," Rey knew doubt would poison their insane odds. "We just need to get past these monsters."

The young Jedi had little experience facing multiple sabers but keeping a steady mind s-would help.

"Yeah, about that." The Doctor said. "I might have a way of making it worse for everyone, which should be better on our end. Interested?"

"Sure." Rey could sense more of her newfound friend's chaotic energy surging to the surface. She sensed… hatred?"

With a cry, the Doctor's body released slithering shadows. The dark things grew, taking a shape similar to droids. Bumps all over its body two rods for limbs and a long burning blue eye.

EXTERMINATE!

The cold robotic cry was echoed by other droids. Their numbers matched the Vaders. While limited in movement, Rey could sense these things were somehow… alive.

"This place works off of nightmares, I just pumped out my worst ones. Meet the Daleks."

One Dalek blasted a Vader, one Sith Lord slashed the shooter apart. Madness erupted into a thousand lasers and swords warring for supremacy. Shredded Daleks, some annihilated from refracted energy blasts, used strange cup-like hands to crush the skulls of distracted Vaders. Metal carcasses rained down while Rey glided them away from larger chunks of debris. The screams for extermination and radiation were deafening.

Rey managed to tune it out, seeing past the fighting, and saw their exit.

"Don't let go!"

A bit obvious, but Rey was slightly distracted focusing on not dying.

Moving up was simply a matter of choice, the destination kept in her mind, and the rest was simply survival. Too many opponents to keep in mind, the trick became focusing on the things most in her way. Blocking shots at everything that moved, being pinned by three Vaders before pushing them into opposing Daleks, and even managing to split on Dalek up the middle with one stroke were among many significant tricks that as a Jedi could appreciated by the living some other time. A deadening silence formed around Rey and the Doctor as they ascended, still in danger, but escape eventually was no longer an impossible challenge.

The laugher followed Rey, as if her survival had been expected, it not make the Jedi feel comfortable.

When the nightmare finally released her, she wondered why that voice reminded of the deserts of Jakku… and two people who wanted to desperately to remember. But the memory was tangled in pain.

Waking up felt easier than it should been, but it helped to be in good company.

"Well, might be the first time I might owe a Dalek," the Doctor muttered. "Best not make a habit of that."

It was hard to determine how much time had passed. At least until the Doctor stuck a finger in the air and licked it.

"Two, wait, one minute and fifty-five minutes. Not too bad. I'm assuming you knew a bit more about those exchanges down there?"

"A little…" The Jedi had no wish to share her burden with a stranger who had been a great deal of help.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Cold laughter dug at the back of her mind.

"I'll sort it out, somewhere else."

"Right," the Doctor said. "I think I'll do the same."

Without a word, they left Vader's palace. Rey led the way in silence, hearing her comrade follow close behind. Soon burning sky of ashes greeted them bitterly. As they reached what little hinted at a landing pad, something stirred. This felt different though, not of Vader or other dark forces. Her foot almost stepped on it.

A flower. Stubbornly resembling green, with reddish-black petals, the plant was strong. Knowing what to look for, they saw more like it, and actually grass breaking through the stone. The Lava below was starting to cool. Small changes and yet if they continued, something different might stand in a place that once was the epicenter of fear.

"I've been a fool."

"What?"

The Doctor took off her shades, revealing a surprising sparkle remaining in those eyes.

"A fool," the Blonde said with a shrug. "Been following the worst thread of darkness through… many places, and ultimately I got misled to some other type of darkness. That's the problem with looking for shadows, they never want to end. And they'll never steer you to the light."

Was that… Ben's mistake? Tricking himself into finding meaning in nothingness. You can't grow in the dark, that takes light.

The flowers became much easier to see now.

"Okay then," the Doctor said with a sigh. "I believe I'm going to seek someone who's good at keeping the light at bay. That's the trick." Nodding, surer of herself with each second, the strange woman put on her shades as if going to battle or putting on a concert. Either way, Rey had a feeling it would be loud.

"You going to be okay, Rey?" the Doctor asked, the young Jedi wished she could lie and say something reassuring. But a thought did occur.

"What you said, about seeking the light," Rey said. "There other Jedi before me, before my own teacher. They exist as more than legacy. If I can reach them…"

I might know how to stop all of this.

I might save him.

Rey felt like she was starting to figure out the way to do right by Leia, by Luke, and Han Solo. It would take time, and… a change in scenery. The General had talked about relocating the Resistance somewhere used by her Master as an early training ground. A good start, she thought.

The Doctor's grin made her believe this was the best move forward.

"Alright," the Doctor offered her hand. "Been a pleasure, Rey, I wish you luck on your path ahead."

"And the same to yours, Doctor," she said, taking it. A thought crossed the Jedi's mind. "When you meant a protector of the light, what exactly did you mean."

A slight frown furrowed on the woman's face.

"Best not worry about things that aren't in your neck of the woods, so to speak. But if I find myself in need of a hand, I know who to look for." With that, the stranger bowed and started down the opposite way from Rey's ship. A moment later, the Jedi heard a groaning noise that gave off odd disturbances in the Force. They passed, and Rey knew the Doctor was gone.

Not away, gone, a part of her focused on that difference for a brief time before returning to her ship. While typing in coordinates back to Millennium Falcon, Rey focused.

She kept the message simple.

One that could be felt no matter the state of being in the Force.

Be with me.

Rey, the Last Jedi, would find them, becoming a beacon that all the lost could seek.

She would find a way through the shadows and bring back the light.