Beep - Beep - Beep
Rey awoke to the navigation sensors informing her on her impending arrival on Ahch-To. The mostly oceanic planet was in full view before her. She stretched from her not-so-comfortable napping position and readied the ship for descent into the atmosphere.
She tried to swallow the nervousness bubbling up in her stomach. This was not going to be easy. Her mind felt clouded, her body nauseous at the thought of returning to the sea cave. She had tried to reason with herself on the journey here why she needed to return to such an evil place. She would much rather explore the Jedi ruins around the planet, and find a place to meditate near the old temple Luke had lived near. Rey sighed, but maybe it made sense. She needed to go to a dark place to learn more about a dark object. She bit the inside of her cheek as she neared the landing zone, remembering the last time she had been on this island before going to Exegol.
She could almost laugh at her actions before. Trying to exile herself here just as Luke had done. Running in fear and cowering. It was cathartic almost, to come back to this place where the tide had changed for her. Where she finally had begun to understand that facing her fears was the only way to conquer them. It had given her the strength and resolve she needed to confront her grandfather, and save the galaxy.
Rey landed the ship near the small village and geared up. She stepped off the ship and let the sharp seasalt air fill her lungs. A small colony of Porgs had noticed her arrival and made their way hopping and flapping their wings around in curiosity. Rey smiled and picked a small one up to hold for a moment, gently running her fingers down its soft head before setting it back down. She had somewhere to be, and putting it off wasn't going to help anything.
Rey made her way through the island towards her destination. She noted the Lanai villagers watching her and gave a small wave. They shook their heads and rumbled to each other in uncertainty before turning back to their tasks. Rey continued onward and down. Soon the entrance loomed before her, and she took a final breath before jumping down and using the Force to steady her descent on to the slippery rocks.
The cave remained the same as it had been in her vision. Rey noted the dark pull she had felt before, but it was somehow different to her now, or maybe it was her that was different? The fear that she had once had was now placed with resolve. She was ready to face whatever was waiting for her.
With each step towards the edge of the cave, she could feel the pull of the Dark Side. The air felt thick and her limbs heavy, as though gravity had begun to pull her down into the planet's core. Rey breathed deeply and focused her inner meditation on the gentle hum she recognized as Force energy coming from before her, though it was tainted in darkness.
She reached the wall she had stood before and found nothing reflected back at her. No mirrors, no vision. She bit her cheek in confusion and turned back to the tumultuous waters that crashed behind her. Her hands had turned to fists beside her and she let out an irritated huff.
"I'm here." she cried to the cave as she threw her arms in the air. "Who are you, what are you, and what do you want?" she called again. The water seemed to crash harder the louder she got. Rey kicked the ground in irritation. Why would she get a vision of this place if there was nothing here? Where else was there to go? She had no other leads, no way of contacting Ben again, how was she supposed to keep going.
The waves crashed endlessly. Swirling together in the darkness with no response. Rey collapsed and felt her lip trembling. Why had she felt like she was just being strung along. Why didn't anyone reach out to her? Tears pooled in her eyes again, half in frustration, but half in the familiar feeling of loneliness and abandonment.
She crossed her legs and let her face fall into her hands as she let out a quiet sob. She had come all this way for nothing. Damn the Force, it led her in circles. It left her alone.
"You are not alone" a voice called from before her. Rey opened her eyes to find the roaring waves had halted, and only lapped at the edges of the cave. Nothing else was before her, but she felt something flow through her. It felt old and new, light and dark. Suddenly it was all around her, a flowing river of peace, but lit aflame like molten lava.
Rey's thoughts scrambled but couldn't fully process everything around her. "You have done well, Rey. You have conquered your fear and begun to restore the balance of the Force in the galaxy, but the weight has shifted too far, and you do not have your counterbalance." the voice echoed in her mind.
Her gaze shifted as she noticed the glowing form above the water before her. Questions poured through her mind, who was this? How did they know her, and what did they know of Ben? She opened her mouth to speak.
"All will be answered in time. For now you may call me Harmaa, though I am called many things." The figure said and shifted into an orb of dull light over the water. Strong enough to cast faint shadows around the cave walls, but dim enough to look like the moonlight that lit her way on Jakku as a child.
"Harmaa." Rey repeated slowly and felt the orb ripple through the Force. "No." Rey thought to herself. The strange orb.. Harmaa, felt all encompassing around her. It wasn't using the Force, it was the Force.
"Yes. You are wise to sense it, although it is not surprising. You are stronger in the Force than you know." Harmaa spoke to her mind. "For this reason I will offer more explanation so you may continue on your journey to save Ben Solo." The orb dissipated into the air around it and returned as two new forms Rey recognised as the familiar shapes of her and Ben. Her mind swirled in confusion, the small amount of information she had already gleaned from the encounter made her feel weak.
"For now all you must know is that your connection with Ben Solo was not forged by any being. It is a gift given to the galaxy when it is needed the most." Harmaa began. "From the beginning of time the Force has existed to flow through all life in the galaxy. Many were gifted to feel the pull of the Force, and learned to join their consciousness to it, and to use it to do their bidding. This is the gift given to all Force users." The two forms moved synchronously as the Force flowed through and around them.
"This gift was given without restriction. They could use it as they pleased and for a long age there was peace and harmony, but many began to use the Force for their own good, forsaking all others for their own gain in secrecy. This began the great divide, where there was only the Force, there was now what you know as the Light and Dark Side."
Rey watched as her figure adorned the clothing of a Jedi, her blue saber igniting. Just the same, Ben's had donned his Kylo-Ren helmet and dark clothing, his red saber at his side.
"Long have they fought for control of the galaxy, unbeknownst to them that they were not meant to be in such a divide. The darkness and light were too powerful in each extreme, and true peace could not be achieved until they were brought back together as one."
The figures dropped their sabers and had turned to face the other. Putting the palms of their hands together.
"It was because of this that your bond was created. Though, not established until you had answered the call of the Force. Your dyad was created so that you, a natural champion of the light, and he, a champion of darkness could overcome the extremes of the Force to bring balance. This was accomplished when Sidious and the Skywalkers, the two last great pulls of Force became one once again."
The forms stood back to face Rey. Hand in hand, before Ben's form faded from view and left Rey's alone. Her breath hitched again in her throat. The swirl of the Force around her seemed intoxicating and she was running out of strength to stay conscious.
"But balance has not been brought to the galaxy. You are not strong enough to hold both sides together yourself. Yes, Ben Solo can be brought back with the stone. There is much darkness in it, but the light you carry in yourself will be able to resist the darkness it was born from. Go to Ronu II, there you will find the information to seek to find the stone. It will not be an easy task, but trust in the Force, bring Ben Solo back and bring balance once again."
Rey could feel her head hanging low as she began to crumble to the ground. It seemed all of her energy had been pulled from her limbs to help her mind understand the monumental amount of information she had just received.
"The Force will be with you, always" she heard as though it had been whispered in her mind. Her body felt too heavy and she rested her head on the cold ground to succumb to the pull of sleep.