"So level up and love again

Call it any name you need

Call it your 2.0, your rebirth, whatever-

So long as you can feel at all,

So long as all your doors are flung wide.

Call it your day #1 in the rest of forever."

—Vienna Tang, "Level Up"

Whispers.

Whispers in the dark.

"These are your first steps, Ben. Rise…and take them."

Ben stirred. His limbs felt like they were made of lead. With an effort he twitched his fingers, making contact with…grass?

Where am I?

"Ben."

Mom? His forehead creased, but he couldn't open his eyes. It was like they'd been glued shut.

"Come back to the Light, Ben. Just as I did."

All right…that voice definitely wasn't one he recognized. With a grunt he jerked his head to the side, trying to break free of the paralyzing numbness that had settled over his whole body.

"That's right, Ben. Come back. Come back to the Light…"

The whispers were getting louder, closer.

"Come back…come back…come back…"

"Rise, Ben…"

"Rise, Last of the Skywalkers."

"You are not alone, Ben."

Panic surged through him at that last voice: Uncle Luke?! He was really waking up now. He curled his fingers. Bent his knees. Strained.

"The Force will be with you, my grandson. Always."

"Ben, look at me!"

With a gasping, roaring cry Ben's eyes flew open. He bolted up onto his elbows, breathing hard, scrambled to his feet—and froze.

He was in a cool, dark place lit only by moonlight and stars…and he was surrounded. Figures in white circled him, but they were solid, not spectral. Rather than the faint blue glow he'd always associated with Force Ghosts, they shimmered in white. All regarded him with varying degrees of affection, pride, and curiosity. As soon as he spotted the only woman among them, his knees quaked.

"Mom," he breathed.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Hello, Ben."

Ben took a step towards her, then stopped. He glanced at the peaceful faces around him, turning slowly so he could take them all in. The only one he knew for sure was Uncle Luke, which was a little unsettling in and of itself—but he'd heard the stories often enough as a little boy to guess who the others were.

Yoda…Obi-Wan Kenobi…and Anakin Skywalker.

"Ben," Leia whispered, stepping into the circle she and her fellow Jedi had formed around him. "Calm down. You're safe, you're home…and I am so proud of you."

He clenched his fists. "No. No, Mom…you have no reason to be."

Leia raised her eyebrows, a challenge if ever he'd seen one. "And what makes you say that?"

"Because—" The word strangled in his throat, a thousand memories hammering him like the furious waves on Kef Bir. "Because I killed you."

Leia frowned. "No, you didn't. I gave my life for you."

Ben gritted his teeth and attempted a shrug. "Same thing."

"No, Ben. I called out to you, knowing good and well that the very effort might kill me, because I wanted to. Because I love you." She took his hand before he could step away from her, cradling it between her palms. Her touch confirmed his suspicion: whatever magic was in this place, it made her as solid as if she were still alive. "By your logic, Rey is responsible for your death—but I don't think you'd ever lay that kind of blame at her feet, would you?"

Ben dropped his gaze. "No. Never."

"Why not?"

He shuddered at the memory of Rey's dead eyes, her limp weight in his arms, and the agonizing grief he'd felt when he realized the electric Bond between them was lifeless. "Because…because she is good, and I'm a monster. If anyone deserves to live, it should be Rey. Not me."

He looked up just in time to see his mother's expression go from defiant to stricken. Ben exhaled shakily, but he kept his head up, willing himself to look like he believed every word he'd just said—because he did. And he certainly would not quail at either her horror or the condemnation of the other, silent Jedi.

But that combination of the sheer bullheadedness and pride he'd inherited from both his parents vanished when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Anakin Skywalker take a step forward. Suddenly (and quite rationally) afraid, Ben tore his eyes from his mother's face and jerked his hand free.

"You think you're unworthy of a second chance," Anakin said, a knowing, almost cocky glint in his young eyes. "And you're right. You are unworthy. We all are…and no one more than me."

Ben blinked. "Darth Vader. You were Darth Vader."

Anakin smirked. "Don't say it too many times. The rest of them will accuse me of letting it go to my head."

A guttural sound came from Uncle Luke's direction. Ben could've sworn it was a chuckle, but the thought of his uncle laughing was just too bizarre to dwell on right now.

"Yes," Anakin continued, more serious now. "I was Darth Vader. But I was shown mercy by someone who had unrelenting faith in me, and like you, I turned back to the Light just in time. You're not looking at a soul in conflict anymore. I wasn't worthy of it, but I have found peace. So will you, if you allow the Light to finish what it's started."

"Trust us," Obi-Wan put in gently. "If you were still Kylo Ren, you would not be here."

"But I was Kylo Ren!" Ben shouted, flinging out his hands. "I swore allegiance to the Dark Side! I slaughtered millions—and I—"

"Oh, will you just stop?" Luke Skywalker groaned.

Everyone stared at him, Ben included. Luke shook his head, and this time he stepped into his nephew's space.

"Yes," he said, low and insistent, "you were Kylo Ren. And you will never forget those days. No matter what you do, you will never lose the memory or the consequences of those sins…anymore than I've lost my own."

He paused, looking Ben straight in the eye. Ben recalled an emerald lightsaber over his head, followed by his own panic and a flood of power he hardly knew he possessed. But in this otherwordly place, his own pain and regret met Luke's sorrowful remorse without either of them having to say a word.

And like a rotting vine that had finally lost its grip on a stronger, healthier plant, a dark and painful knot loosened in the center of his gut.

"You'll never forget those days," Luke whispered, still holding his gaze. "But you aren't Kylo Ren anymore. That man died the moment he threw his own lightsaber into the ocean. You're Ben Solo again, the son of my sister and my very best friend…and I love you."

Ben drew a shuddering, watery breath.

"The Grace of the Light, it is," Yoda croaked beside Obi-Wan. "Chosen you, it has."

"F-for what?" Ben stammered.

A gentle smile tugged at Luke's weathered face. "For another chance at life."

Ben stared, eyes widening. "You mean—"

"Yes," Leia whispered, clasping his hand again. "You aren't here to stay, Son, not yet. You've been granted another chance to serve the Light, restore the Republic, and become a Jedi again."

"Not to mention another chance to be with Luke's pretty apprentice," Anakin deadpanned.

Obi-Wan shot him the unmistakable look of someone who's had to deal with a merciless tease for far too long.

"It won't be easy," Luke warned. "The Resistance won't trust you at first. They may even try and tear you to pieces, hoping your blood will right all the wrongs ever inflicted since the Battle of Endor. But Ben…you know who you are now. The Light is in you. It never really left. Make amends, by all means, when you can—but never forget who you truly are."

"Who are you, Son?" Leia prodded.

Ben took a long, bracing breath and drew himself up to his full height. As he did, he realized for the first time that he no longer wore his torn, black, bloodied clothes.

He was clad in the white robes and brown hood of a Jedi Knight.

"I am Ben Solo," he said, his deep voice gaining in strength. "And I am a Jedi…like my mother before me."

Told ya Chapter Three would be a game changer! And I know it was a short one, but I've got a much longer and very epic "Reunion Chapter" coming for you on Saturday!