Twenty One.

"If I was to tell you that there are landing craft entering the atmosphere, would that completely ruin the day?" Beau asked Finn and Jannah as they nervously paced the crew area in the Millennium Falcon. Both stared at him. Finn was on tenterhooks, swinging between the desire to exit the ship, run headlong towards the Castle and barrel in, doing whatever he could to get Rey back and the duty to stay and accept that this place was toxic to him.

"Is that something you're likely to say?" Jannah asked dryly.

"Maybe, maybe," Beau admitted. "Hypothetically, there could be three, homing in to land on the plains to the north of the Castle. And due to land in ten minutes."

"Any luck getting through to Poe?" Finn asked, ceasing his pacing and walking right up to the man. The small shake of his head and slump of his shoulders told the tale even before he confirmed it.

"So what do we do?" Jannah asked. "Go get them?"

"And be trapped on the ground and outnumbered?" Finn asked and then sighed. "We need to get the ship ready to fly…and be ready when they arrive." There was a scuffle as Tamini emerged from the galley, her eyes glittering with irritation and a bowl of weak porridge clasped in her hand.

"There is another option," she said, glaring up at the humans. "You could take the ship to them."

-o0o-

Exhaustion was weighing his limbs and he felt as if he had been fighting for hours. Every time he cut down an enemy, another surged forward. Red-clad Sith guards, Knights of Ren, Praetorians…all surrounded him, forcing him to expend his energies to protect himself and stop them killing him. Parry, duck, twist, slice, stab, deflect…every motion was precise and balanced but though he carved a deadly swathe through the opponents, there were never any fewer and he was never any nearer the end…

Think…

He spun away, the lightsaber raised, pointing aggressively at them as was his usual stance, his weight balanced forward. His chest was heaving and sweat trickled down his neck as he tracked their movements. He was pretty certain he had killed at least one of them three times already. It just made no sense…

They aren't real, he realised. These are just ghosts generated by the Dark Side. Rey and I killed the Praetorians and the Sith Guards. I slaughtered the Knights of Ren myself. None of these are alive…but they can still harm me in this place. This is an illusion, a distraction to keep me from my goal…

Or hold me up.

He gestured and all the shapes were slammed backwards, away from him and crashing devastatingly against the rocky walls. Finally he lowered his lightsaber.

"I won't play your game any more, Snoke," he growled, tamping down his rage furiously. Losing control now was not an option-not when he had the others nearby and particularly when he had a very specific purpose.

"You are weak-just as you always have been," Snoke taunted him, looming from the dark suddenly. He couldn't help himself, back-pedalling and raising the lightsaber defensively to hide his panic. He could sense the evil presence swirling around him and the sight of the attenuated gold-clad shape, moving towards him with the scarred, misshapen head and the ice-cold blue eyes. Snoke inspected him and his voice grew colder. "Pathetic. I knew I should have searched harder for the spawn of the Palpatine line-because you were always a disappointment, a spoilt child in a mask!"

Fury surged through Ben and he leapt forward-to meet a blast of Force lightning that spun him over and over, face and hands scraped on the rough floor. The saber skipped away and he slowly raised his head, feeling Snoke's energies begin to crackle through the air once more. In a second, he extended his hand and the lightsaber slapped into his skinned palm, igniting as he rolled to deflect another blast of lightning.

"And yet-I killed you," Ben taunted him, rising. Snoke was advancing and he couldn't sense the others so he rolled to his feet and deflected the last blast straight at Snoke, causing him to disappear. Then he dropped to his knees, shaking his hand and catching his breath. His head was pounding and he could feel the seductive lure of the Dark Side, calling him back. And he knew, with shame, he had embraced it-for a few brief moments. In the battle, it had been as if he was back on the Supremacy, fighting for his life with Rey at his back. It was the one moment of clarity he had…until Kef Bir.

But the others had fled deeper into the fortress and he was the only remotely friendly thing here-and probably their only way out. Stumbling to his feet, he turned and headed off in the direction they had run, every sense straining. There was still shame at how easily he had surrendered, how welcome the surge of power had been and he mentally scolded himself over and over, recalling how much his mother had sacrificed to call him to the light.

What is wrong with me that I seek the Darkness so readily when I know why I must cling to the light?

There were breaths up ahead and lights…and something slithering rather menacingly amid the gloom. The roof was creaking ominously and he could hear Chewbacca growl: against all rationality, he felt a smile lift his lips and secretly hoped the big Wookiee didn't sneeze again. He was feeling exhausted and really doubted he could support the roof once more. And then he saw flickers of light, sinking ahead. Shaking his head against a surge of unhealthy concern, he staggered forward and then he heard them stop.

"What's that?" Zorii asked, her voice sharp. There was a hiss.

"I guess a hiss isn't a good sign," Rose put in.

"Ya think?" Poe added as Chewie gave a distressed yowl. Leaping forward, Ben found himself halfway down a wide flight of stairs, facing a yawning black abyss ahead.

"Stay behind me," he growled.

"You playing with us again or have you joined the black cloak and cowl brigade once more?" Poe asked him directly.

"Well, the cowl would be nice and warm in a damp, cold Sith fortresses," Ben told him sarcastically. "But no-the Dark Side is very strong here. There was a cave under the castle that contains the Dark Side locus and a portal to the Dark Side. My grandf…Vader closed it eventually…but the Dark is very strong here. And I am…I was a servant of the Dark Side. I tend to attract the Darkness…"

"D'you mind standing over there, then?" Zorii asked pointedly as they peered into the blackness ahead.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked carefully and he nodded, not wanting to explain his injuries.

"What we need is up ahead," he said honestly. "And the closer we get to the former site of the portal, the stronger the influence of the darkness…" There was a chittering and the sounds of something heavy moving, along with a stale, putrescent smell.

"That doesn't smell good either," Zorii added, peering through her visor and levelling her blaster at the velvet darkness.

"They never do," Ben told her, inching forward, down the stairs. He could sense the heavy body moving and a red glow from Dark-fuelled eyes. And beyond, he felt the throbbing of the artefact they sought.

And then it attacked, a monster that looked like a cross between a spider and a scorpion, black and marked with red, the tail slashing fiercely as the glowing yellow and blue eyes focussed on the tall shape.

"BACK!" Ben yelled, the lightsaber flashing up to parry a vicious swipe. The creature was armoured and fast, the lightsaber deflecting off its scutes as it spun again, a segmented leg slicing at him and cutting across his thigh. Biting down on a yelp, he jumped back and glared. Then he attacked and the watchers found themselves mesmerised by his movements. Every motion was precise, graceful and powerful, his balance excellent and saber constantly moving, treated as an extension of his arm. Whether it was a sweep, a stab or even a small unconscious circular flick as he paced sideways, his dark eyes never left the creature as he anticipated the next attack.

The room shook as the creature roared, rearing up and the front four limbs wheeled and slashed at him, which he parried frantically, spinning under the attack and slashing at the creature's abdomen, opening a superficial slice that leaked little orange fluid. He blinked: the orange viscid liquid landed on the stone floor and dissolved the rock with a sinister hiss.

You gotta be kidding me. It's almost lightsaber proof and it has acidic blood?

The tail slashed round and he bellowed in pain as it cut across his back. Stumbling forward, a leg caught him across the shoulder and he found himself spun away, landing on his face and looking up as the creature lowered its head and chittered furiously, advancing for the kill. Then the whine of blaster fire sounded and he glanced over his shoulder to see the other four lined up, laying down cover fire. There was no question, no hesitation: every eye was on the monster. Gesturing, he felt the lightsaber slap into his palm and then he was up, legs folded under his body before he launched into a Force-assisted leap, spinning over the creature. Still firing at it, the others backed up as it lunged-and then it screamed. The tail arched round and stabbed through Ben's shoulder but he had already driven his lightsaber through its head, the motion of the laser blade slicing the head in two. There was a shudder before the monster slammed to the floor, its killer leaping away just in time.

He landed clumsily in front of the others and then cringed as the corpse burst into flames, the dancing light illuminating the large chamber they stood in. Frowning, he deactivated the saber and then looked around, his body freezing as he saw the picture. It was a young woman-younger than he was-with clear lightly tanned skin, dark brown hair styled elegantly and elaborately crowning her head and clear caramel-brown eyes. She was very beautiful, the smallest smile lifting her lips. Unconsciously, he walked forward, brow furrowing further as he realised he could see his mother's eyes in this portrait, a face he had seen in images when he was much younger. His breath caught as he looked around, seeing the chamber devoid of any other ornamentation, a pang hitting his heart harder than he would have expected.

Everything he had believed was wrong. He had still loved her.

"Who is she?" Poe asked, his voice respectful. Ben swallowed.

"Padme Amidala Naberrie," he said, his throat suddenly thick and voice hoarse. "Anakin Skywalker's wife. My grandmother." Poe frowned.

"The General's mother?" he murmured.

"She died in childbirth," Ben confirmed tonelessly. "I never met her. Fear for her and her unborn children was one of the reasons why Anakin turned to the Dark Side." Though he was corrupted by Darth Sidious along the way.

"And he kept the picture, even though he became Vader," Poe murmured. Ben nodded.

"Being a Sith doesn't preclude emotions like love," he said after a moment and trying to think of a way of phrasing things so the others would understand. "The Jedi suppress emotions, try to expunge them from their hearts and minds because they believe that emotions lead to anger, jealousy, cruelty, darkness. But what that means Sith can feel love and joy as well…but most embrace anger and hatred more because they give power. The Dark emotions are much stronger than no emotions. But they can also lead you down a path from which it is almost impossible to turn back."

"You did," Poe pointed out. Ben stared into the eyes of his long-dead grandmother, a woman who had perished so young when she had everything to live for and felt his heart curl in shame.

"Only because Rey kept pulling me," he confessed. "Rey was such a strong light that I couldn't let her go. And even though she used the Dark Side to deal me a lethal blow, she wouldn't let me die. She healed me…and feeling her use her own life force to spare me my just reward finally gave me the strength to do what I had to…" Then he looked away, to the centre of the room where a heavy stone slab deeply etched with Sith Runes.

Voices were whispering, insistent, nagging. Beneath the stone, the Holocron was imbued almost with a life of its own, a malignant quasi-sentience that slowly eroded anyone close, especially those who were not already sunk beyond retrieval in the blanket of the Dark.

"It's there," he said, turning away from the portrait. "You need to keep back. It's a powerful artefact and it can speak to you, try to turn you. Do not touch it. Leave it to me."

"And you're okay with it?" Rose checked. He quirked a humourless smile.

"Honestly? I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I'm the only one who can use it. None of you can understand its contents and I'm not sure any of you could resist its effects either."

"And if you can't?" Poe asked him. Dark eyes sliding up to the largest shape, Ben gave a grim smile.

"Set Chewie on me," he said mirthlessly. "I wouldn't hurt him. And he could definitely hurt me."

"That doesn't sound too optimistic," Zorii commented dryly, folding her arms.

"I'm not expecting to get out of this alive," he told her bluntly, walking forward. "But as long as Rey is back, it doesn't matter."

Rose stared at him, her heart contracting a little at the bleak tone. She had no idea what was going on inside his head but she intellectually knew that he was absolutely shredded by guilt for what he had done and at the loss of Rey. That he couldn't restore her to life when she had saved him. And everything he had done had been to this one end, to try to get her back…at the willing cost of his life. And while she really shouldn't care-because what he had done shouldn't ever be redeemable-she found that she did. Commander Rose Tico of the Resistance-Rey's friend and Paige's sister-finally understood what her friend had meant. The man facing her was Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren. And he wanted to get her friend back.

"Take care," Poe said and they stepped back as he approached the slab. The whispers were shushing through the back of his mind, the words muffled but the sensation of evil intensifying. He rubbed his temple, feeling a migraine starting and focussed on the slab. With a hum, the lightsaber ignited in his hand and he danced forward, jamming the blade into the stone, the edges slowly blurring as he methodically used the weapon to soften the rock. Then, with a clawed slash of the hand, he used the Force to rip the cover away, the heavy granite landing with a crash and shattering.

The Holocron was sitting there, just as the Wayfinder had…was it only weeks ago? Pyramidal, a sickly yellow and throbbing with malevolence, Ben briefly wished he was still wearing gloves and hesitated for a second as he reached out to grasp it.

Coward.

It was Snoke's voice.

Gritting his teeth, he grasped it, feeling a strange sensation of hot and cold in his hand. The voices intensified and he grimaced but slowly straightened up, his face carefully controlled though he was breathing hard.

"We need to get out of here," he said evenly. "This way."

"No argument here," Poe commented as they followed, ducking into a narrow alcove and finding themselves in a passage that only Rose could stand up straight in. Chewie was almost bent double and everyone was grumbling, uncomfortable, cramped and stumbling in only the harsh light of Ben's lightsaber. For what seemed like an eternity but probably only half a kilometre, they scrambled along until they suddenly emerged from a black rocky outcrop into the wan grey light amid the skeletal trees. A wash of hot sulphurous air hit them and all of them choked again, craning their necks to peer at the ruins of the Castle, jutting against the orange-tinged sky.

"POE!" The comm crackled into life.

"Finn? How are ya feeling, buddy?" The affection in Poe's voice was obvious.

"Good, good…I don't want to kill Ren now," Finn explained with chagrin and then paused. "But we have other problems. A Star Destroyer has entered orbit and three carriers of stormtroopers have landed and are heading your way."

"Hux," Ben growled. "Just for once, I wish he would be less predictable."

"Can you detect them?" Poe asked.

"Sensors are not saying anything but we know they landed!" Finn reported. "Be on your guard. And I think you need to get back to the ship as soon as…"

A brace of blaster fire bracketed then and they all started as white-armoured shapes emerged from among the trees. Ben's saber was in his hand in an instant as he stepped forward.

"Get back to the ship," he growled. "I'll take care of this."

"Ren?" Poe began. "We should…"

"What part of go don't you understand?" Ben snarled, glancing over his shoulder. His eyes were black and edged with burning red and his face twisted into an expression of fury. "I can deal with this…" Rose opened her mouth to protest but a volley of blaster fire had them ducking back into the lea of the rocky tunnel entrance.

"The walking into a hail of blasters," Zorii snarked back. Chewie added his disapproval as Poe narrowed his eyes as he heard Ben's voice. The look on his face and his posture suddenly looked a lot more like Kylo Ren than he had moments before and his eyes drifted treacherously towards the sickly yellow glow of the holocron. For a second, the tall former Supreme Leader cast Poe a sharp look and the slightest nod-and then he accelerated forward, the hum of the lightsaber as it swung intercepting the whine and explosion of blasters. The General tapped his friends on the arms and as the attacking stormtroopers concentrated on Ben. they ran for it, firing to cover their escape. But behind them, teeth bared in fury, Ben launched into the stormtroopers, carving a bloody swathe through the ranks. Sliced open, impaled, slammed aside by the Force or hit by lightsaber-deflected blasts, the white-armoured shapes simply didn't stand a chance against the raging monster.

But just as he was turning away, the ranks were replaced with a seemingly endless swarm of troopers, all closing on the lone shape…