Chapter eighteen - The custody battle of light...and dark...
"Where is my saber?" asked Ben and walked over to his uncle, as if he was expecting Luke to keep a spare one inside his robes.
"You need training. If you work hard on your training, you will get a lightsaber," said his uncle and patted him awkwardly, as if he was a dog he was going to reward with a treat for not peeing on the carpet.
"Go home...or get a lightsaber...go home or get a lightsaber..." muttered Ben anxiously. "Can't I do both?"
"Afraid not," said Luke. "Of course you will get home eventually...just not right now...you are not ready...yet..."
Ben hesitated, as he was caught between two options, a lightsaber one and none lightsaber one and yet the none lightsaber one, was the one he had been dreaming about for months.
He looked at his father not far behind him for help, who scowled at Luke for making his son become so indecisive and yelled at him: "I know what this is...you have set your eyes on him since you knew he was force sensitive. You wanted this!"
Luke took a deep breath, like he was using the force to calm himself down, before shouting back at him: "How dare you! I even told Leia that he was too old to start training, but she insisted that he needed help and so I'm helping..."
Before his father had a chance to retort, Ben pulled at his uncle's sleeve and asked in a small voice:"One question. Can my saber be red?" He had thought carefully about his dream saber, but the innocent question send last of his uncle's patience straight out the window...even though they were outside...in the dark...
"What?! Of course not! That's darkside. See, he has so much darkside in him that he wants a darkside saber!" He pointed accusingly at Ben and his father looked a little worried by his choice.
Ben frowned at his uncle for jumping to conclusions. "No, red and black just happens to be my favorite colors. You are weird...but then it's a deal breaker. I'm going home." He walked back to his father, who gave him a thumbs up for choosing the right thing.
"Good choice, kid."
"It's not that simple! Why doesn't anyone listen to me?!" shouted Luke and the desperation in his voice, made Ben stop and look between him and his father, who furrowed his brows.
"You know we named the kid Ben, because of you. I hardly got to know the guy...before Vader chopped him down and wasn't his real name Obi-Wan in the first place? I wanted to call my son Benjamin Chewbacca Solo, but Leia thought it was a stupid name and decided to honor your request...instead."
"Thank you..." mouthed Ben at Luke for saving him, who half smiled.
KR: Hehehe...Chewbacca Solo...
Yeah...like I wasn't teased in school enough...
KR: At least Luke did you a huge favour there...of course he could have asked for you to be called Vader instead...that would've been cool...
Nah, I like my current name.
KR: Your taste sucks...
Fine, then I will tell Snoke all about how you made fun of him!
KR: No, don't do that! Wait...how did you even plan on doing that...? Are you planning on going to the First Order?
I would find a way...somehow...without doing that...
KR: Is that so?
"Wait, dad...does that mean that you hate my name...?" asked Ben shocked, his father shook his head and grabbed his hand and dragged him gently over to him, like they were in some weird custody battle with his uncle.
"Of course not, you are still my Ben. It doesn't matter what I thought first. Though, I don't see what the big deal was, we would have called you Ben or Benny for short." He put him behind his back like he was hiding him from Luke's sight, before continuing with their argument: "You want him, because he has the same name as your old master. I think you even wanted to call him Ben Yoda, but thankfully Leia put a stop that...it's our kid anyway. Get your own one...and you call him or her whatever you want...but please leave my son alone."
KR: Ben Yoda...?
At least mom had some naming sense...
"No, no. You are all wrong. I don't want him. If anything, I would prefer to just give him private tuition back home. Were you or better yet, his mom can keep an eye on him. He's a real handful, your son." Ben peered from behind his father's back, to see his uncle point at the black robe on the ground, reminding his father what his son had done not so long ago.
His father looked at Ben, behind his back. "I can take him off your hands."
Luke sighed, like there was so much work to be done and not enough time to do it. "I wish, but there are people out there who want to use him for his powers. He's far safer here...I'm afraid." He whispered the last part as if he was expecting people to be listening in.
"Who are you talking about?" asked his father annoyed and did not bother to lower his voice in the slightest.
KR: Duh, the AMAZING supreme leader of course. Who else?
Darth Vader?
KR: That would of course have been awesome! I hope I get to meet him one day!
When you are...dead?
KR: No you idiot as a force ghost.
Vader is not a forceghost...
KR: How do you know? Have you even met Anakin?
No, but I think Vader being a forceghost is highly unlikely...
KR: You are highly unlikely!
"You wouldn't understand...force stuff. I talked it over with Leia. I'm sorry, but you can't help him. It's too late," said Luke sadly and shook his head.
"It's not too late!" shouted Ben.
"He's in danger...?" His father looked at him like he wanted to wrap him in a bubble wrap, even though he already zipped him up in his jacket and lock him somewhere safe. "Please, can we not talk about this in front of him? It would be better if he just went to sleep. Go to sleep." He pointed firmly at the Falcon in the distance, but Ben stubbornly remained as he wanted to know what this was all about.
"He needs to know the truth," said his uncle, who for once saw his side, but his father shook his head fervently.
"He can't handle the truth...not now...please...he's too young," pleaded his father and covered Ben ears.
"I'm not too young!" shouted Ben indignantly as he hated being kept in the dark and it was getting darker by the minute. He jumped away from his father's overprotectiveness.
"Ben, your father and I need to talk, go and sleep," said his uncle with his no argument voice, as he saw that there was no way to convince his father to allow him to stay.
"I'm not tired," said Ben stubbornly and crossed his arms with long sleeves and stifled a great yawn.
"Fine, go and meditate then," commanded his uncle and pointed at that academy, like that was the only place where one could mediate.
"I don't want to meditate! I haven't seen daddy in months," whined Ben, also because he didn't not want to return to the academy at any cost.
"Leave now or I will make you wash all the Jedi robes you ruined," threatened his uncle.
"Daaad!"
KR: Such a whiner...
Seriously, I was just a kid back then...
KR: Was?
"Don't be so hard on him. I know, I am one to talk...but I am...slowly making up for it. It's okay, just go and play...in the Falcon." His father put a great emphasis on the word Falcon, kind of like when he took him on a mission, or Ben had smuggled himself with him, and he knew the place was about to blow, so he used this secret code, go play in the Falcon, to send him to safety, without alerting the enemies that he was on to them and was prepared to fight...to stay alive...
Needless to say, the moment his mom found out about how dangerous those missions really were, she put a stop to Ben ever to go with his father on such missions, as she put a tracker on him, so he couldn't go without her knowledge, meaning Ben was, for a long while, forced to die of boredom in school. At least training to be a Jedi was somewhat a better...though Ben really just wanted to go home and have more adventures with his father and Chewie...whenever he was too tired to hang around at home with his family, which Ben understood perfectly, as he hated staying in one place too long...
It worried Ben though that his father thought it necessary to use the secret code and he was about to obey, when his uncle stopped by fixing him with a stern look, most likely infused with the force to keep him there, as Ben couldn't move a muscle.
"He's my padawan...or rather one of them." His uncle looked at the academy, behind him, to where the rest of the padawans were sleeping peacefully and none of them was causing him such trouble, like his own blood. He looked relieved that none of the had awaken despite all the ruckus, but at the same time, looked worried that they weren't more force sensitive than this...or maybe they just didn't care what was happening, as it was nothing new that he was having a great row with his nephew. The only new thing was that now Ben's father was present to help him...sometimes in his arguments.
"He's my only child...Which reminds me...I almost forgot...your present..." His father went into his pocket, but when frowned when he came up empty."Wait here." He walked quickly over to the Falcon.
"Wait...?" Ben did not like the sound of that, as he watched his father's back getting further away.
He hated waiting with passion and was about to go after his father, as he was so afraid of him just taking off without him, but his uncle stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head sternly, as he was always trying to teach him patience.
Thankfully, his father soon returned and hid something behind his back and put it Ben's jacket covered palm. "An early birthday present."
"Wooow!" Ben looked amazed, when he uncovered the present. "Did you make this?"
"Yes." His father tousled his hair and pointed at the wooden toy Falcon. "Now you can look at it each time you think something stupid like that I care more about the ship than you. Which is wrong by the way, I love you both and I don't want to lose either of you, understand? I don't want to lose any of you." He turned to Luke to show that he was included and Luke looked surprised and glad, to be included in that list of precious items...or people...
KR: That sounded forced...did he rehearse this in front of a mirror?
Could be...but I don't remember that toy...
KR: Do you remember every toy he gave you?
No...well...yes...and I would remember this...I am sure...
KR: Did he mean this when he said he would give you a ship for your birthday...
No, he meant a real one...wait a minute!
"Thanks dad!" Ben beamed both over the words and the gift.
"Anytime kiddo. Now go play...I mean sleep..." His father sighed when he gave him his best puppy eyes. "Okay, you can play for a little while in the..."
Ben ran off, before he managed to finish the sentence as he did not want to miss the conversation between his father and uncle and hoped they would continue, if they thought he was too busy playing in the background to be paying attention to them, when in fact he was spying on them.
His plan did not work, as his uncle saw right through him, did not spill any secrets and instead shook his head with a tired expression. "You are rewarding him for bad behavior. Somehow I don't think Leia would want that."
"What bad behavior? Oh...the robes...that was naughty Ben...but I payed for them..I mean I will pay for them...if you would just allow me," said his father, who had not seen through Ben's plan and thought he was just playing innocently, even though he had picked up a model TIE fighter from his bag and was using the force to let it chase the toy Falcon with loud shooting noises.
"I won't allow you, since it won't teach him anything. No wonder your kid is out of control!" yelled his uncle vexed over the wroom, wroom noises Ben was making, as he used the force to make Falcon evade the deadly attack with a daring maneuver close to the ground.
Ben stopped playing to shout at his uncle. "You are out of control!"
The TIE fighter flew straight into with his hand and threw it at his uncle's head, which made the Jedi master ow and rub his head with an angry expression.
He looked like he really wanted to kill his nephew for this, but instead he whined:"Han, control your son!"
"Ben, temper!" chastised his father him.
"He started it!" Ben pouted as he picked his toy TIE fighter from the ground. "It's broken, thanks a lot!" He tried to fix the model with a sour expression.
KR: Luke couldn't even evade this lousy attack...what a loser!
I don't think he was even trying to...he didn't exactly see me as a threat...at that time...I don't remember having been that bratty!
KR: You still are...
Not like this...I mean I'm not!
KR: Maybe I should just arm myself with model TIE fighters and throw at Luke's head...? He sure wouldn't see that attack coming...nah, real TIE fighters are more fun!
"Let me see that." His father took the model TIE fighter, inspected it and started working on it. "It's not that serious. Fixed it." He handed the fixed toy back to Ben who smiled gratefully at him.
Luke, who was still rubbing his head, frowned at his father disapprovingly. "And on top of things, you give him a toy. What will that teach him?"
"That dad is awesome...after all..." said Ben smirking and lifted his toy Falcon victoriously up in the air, only to have it confiscated by his father, who frowned at him sternly and put it into his pocket with the words:"I am not rewarding him...I will keep that until we get home."
Ben felt betrayed, but then his father blinked him and whispered:"You will get it back when I return..."
"Yes, father..." said Ben and pretended to act contrite in front of his uncle and was the picture of a perfect innocence.
"Ben, go now," said his uncle impatiently as he wanted to finish their discussion and he gave him a look like he wanted to force push him to the Falcon or the academy.
"Go where?" asked Ben snidely and couldn't help grinning a little bit evilly as he knew he would never have gotten away with such behavior in his mother's presence, but he jumped up in shock when his father gave him a warning swat, even though it didn't hurt with all the padding under the oversized jacket and shook a finger at him sternly.
"Behave, kid. This was your last chance."
Hey!
KR: You asked for it.
Did not! Though it didn't hurt...it hurt my feelings...
KR: They are always hurt...anyways...you are such a snowflake...
Snowflakes are tough! Don't underestimate them! I bet you have never tried catching them with your tongue!
KR: No, I had a job. I had no time for such...fun...I mean foolishness!
His uncle smirked, that he was finally getting through to this father and Ben gave his father a hurt look for that betrayal, for letting his uncle win, but his father stern features changed instantly as he said gently."Go and talk to Chewie. He can't wait to see you. I will be with you in a bit, kid. I promise...and get some sleep." He gave him a goodnight kiss on the head and tousled his hair. "Goodnight, kid."
"Don't you dare leave me here," said Ben and hung onto his father, like he was afraid that he would carry him back to the academy, while he slept and he turned to his uncle:"And you better not say anything stupid to him!"
"I never say anything stupid," said Luke in a hurt voice, but before Ben could retort, his father interjected into their fight. "I won't kid. Now go, before your uncle loses it." He pushed him gently to the Falcon and at last Ben obeyed, although he occasionally cast a glance over his shoulder to see what his father and uncle were up to...or rather arguing about.
"Losing it?! I'm a Jedi! I can control my temper!" His uncle stormed off to the academy and his father followed him equally as mad.
"Yeah...yeah...and I'm the emperor...or rather you...you are behaving like a dictator!" shouted his father and his uncle stopped outraged and turned to him and poked him hard in the chest.
"You think I want this...I hate this just as much as you do...and I am a Jedi, we can't hate!" said his uncle pitifully.
"Just as much...he's my child not yours..." said his father incredulously over the implication. "It was just that one kiss right...?" He growled at him, referring to the story his father hated so much and his mother always used to tease him, about her kissing Luke, even though that was long before she knew they were related. She still brought it up to tease them both.
"Of course, I mean he feels like my surrogate son sometimes...I mean, he is my dear padawan..." said his uncle embarrassed and started walking again. "Too bad he can be so difficult...must be the Solo blood..."
"Hey! Get your own...perfect kid then!" yelled his father and followed after him. "He's mine!"
"I have plenty of kids in the academy! And you know what I mean...you know why WE have to do this...I'm just fixing your mess...!" Luke stopped mid speech.
"What?" asked his father annoyed and Luke turned around and pointed at Ben, who jumped up in shock after having been discovered, eavesdropping from inside the open Falcon, though he didn't really need to eavesdrop as they were yelling everything, kind of like how every fight between his parents went.
"BEN! Go to sleep now!" bellowed his father at him, his patience long since gone while his uncle, who knew of a much better method to deal with spies, used one swift motion with the force to close the door on him, so they could argue in peace...
KR: And cut to you riding home, living happily ever after...and me never waking up, which sucks, but at least we can leave this strange world. Can we go back now?
I doubt it will be that easy...
KR: Now why would your father listen to Luke...of all things?
I don't know...but I have a feeling...a bad feeling...
KR: You always have one! Why must everything be so kriffing difficult for you!
I did not ask for this...I did not ask for any of this...
KR: Stop whining and let's get this over with then...
Okay...just give me a minute to prepare...
KR: Fine, but only one minute! Not a second longer!
Who said you were in charge?
KR: I'm in charge now! Deal with it!
If you say so...
Next up: The dark dreams...
