"And if the silence takes you, then I hope it takes me too."-Death Cab for Cutie

Chapter 8

I had managed to snag another hour of sleep, but besides that, I waited in my chambers for the remaining hours before we reached Exegol. I mostly jus stared at walls, sulking, thinking impatiently of seeing Rey again, not caring what was happening on this ship unless it effected the rest of my plans.

A beep came at my door, and threw my helmet on right as a duo of stormtroopers appeared in my doorway.

"We're approaching Exegol, now, Supreme Leader," one of them grumbled out behind their helmet. I nodded curtly.

"Prepare my ship." I commanded. They bowed slightly, and were on their way.

Shortly, I was descending into my own private hangar, and no one interfered with me as I made my way to my ship. Before I climbed up the short ladder into the cockpit of the TIE fighter, I turned to another, different duo of stormtroopers that were present. I guess to assist me, but everyone knew I didn't need assisting.

"Inform General Pryde I'll be aiding Emperor Palpatine on the ground." I knew the sound of my voice through my helmet struck fear into these troops, and nerves radiated off of them in jarring waves.

"Yes, Supreme Leader," they bowed and spoke at the same time, and I was just now beginning to think it was a bit absurd. Only a few weeks ago, I would've been personally enraged at the idea of my subordinates not acting in such a way to me. But now, as I stepped out of the Darkness, I saw just how bizarre such authoritarian-style leadership was.

I was expecting the regular rumble and crackle of the skies outside as the door to the hangar began to rise up, but instead was welcomed by the sounds of ships whizzing past and shots being fired. One peak through the tinted window glass of the TIE fighter and I spotted the miscellaneous ships that made up the Resistance fleet. They were here already? By the looks of it, they had quite literally just arrived, and they were targeting the imperial fleet.

That's when I felt it: the jolt in the air around me as I felt Rey's energy spike. She was on edge, I could sense it.

It was a quick and easy flight down to the outskirts of the Sith temple I knew Palpatine was in, but I immediately became nervous when I saw Rey's ship was already on the ground. How did I manage not to get down here sooner? Something wasn't right, I could feel it.

Yes, something wasn't right. My a quick probe of a couple of minds just above me, on the Supremacy, I knew what was wrong immediately. We had arrived at Exegol hours ago. No one had told me.

This thought alone made me want to go right back up the Supremacy and murder everyone in pure bloodlust, but not only had I made a promise to myself and Rey not to give in to that side of me anymore, I was more concerned about what this meant for Rey.

As soon as I landed, I discarded my helmet and grabbed my sabre. I hopped out of the ship, and immediately ran towards the narrow entrance of the temple, headed for the stone lift that would take me down to Palpatine, and hopefully, Rey.

I didn't stop running, even when I launched myself at the stone chain-link that lowered the stone palate down, seeing as Rey had already used it to descend.

"Ow," I grunted out as my chest rammed into the curve of one of the links. I then hurried downward, feeling Rey's apprehension grow as I got nearer, leaving my own fears behind as I continued down.

I was making my way to the arena area where I knew Palpatine would be waiting, but when I turned a corner, I was surprised by the sight of my Knights manifesting before me.

If this were any other mission or battle, I knew they'd be here to help me. But in those situations, I would have called upon them to come with me. They had come here of their own volition. And with one glance at their offensive poses and into their (however well-guarded) minds, it was clear their allegiance was no longer to me-it was to Darth Sidious.

Kriff, I cursed myself. Palpatine knew. He had figured it out. That explained why no one had told me the truth of our arriving at Exegol when we did. That explained why I hadn't been hearing Palpatine as much recently. Rey and I solidifying our bond must have been some sort of beacon through the Force, reaching Palpatine, showing him that I was too far from his clutches now, as I was too enamored with Rey.

Immediately they were upon me. A staff being flung at my head, which I ducked down from. A spear being jabbed near my midsection, which I twirled away from, but my chin was met by a fist, followed by another blow to my gut. I fell on my knees, leaning forward slightly. I wasn't as worried as I probably should have been, seeing as my life was now in the hands of those I had trained. I was too focused on getting to Rey, of helping her. With her energy so near, I was simply in a frenzy to get to her.

But as I snapped my head up, I saw her. Time slowed down it felt like it wasn't moving forward at all. Just her form, I could see her. I looked up at her, my eyes shining with the vow I had subconsciously given her. I would not fight anymore, I'd help her put an end to this. I was already hers, even if she knew it or not. I figured now she did, by looking in my eyes. She was holding my mother's sabre out, and I knew she was pointing it at Palpatine. When her eyes met mine, they were full of so much hope at seeing me, and like she had just made a decision, even though she seemed wary. I was slightly confused, but I began to understand as she shut off her sabre, and began to lift it back and up, behind her head, as if she was putting it away in the back of her belt.

I smiled at her, letting all of my fears roll off of me, pushing my confidence onto her. She tensed with effort, and I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, she was gone. But the sabre was in my hand. My knights-or ex-knights now, I supposed-leaned back in surprise, and I rose to my full height, I shrugged slightly, as if to say, 'well, what'd you expect?'

The fighting continued, but with the sabre, I knew it'd be easy to cut them down. Now that Rey had given me such a token of complete trust, faith, and hope, I knew I could do anything, if it meant I'd get to her.

When Palpatine realized my sabre was gone, the Praetorian guards were descending upon me, and I used Luke's sabre to fight them off.

Getting into the hellish pit had been eery, to say the least. I was glad to see the signal Poe sent me, to let me know that at least the Ajan Kloss team were on their way. I could only hope I wasn't leading them to certain death. It had been suspenseful walking through the temple to meet Palpatine. I was cautious around every corner, at every figure I saw lurking in the shadows. When I saw my grandfather in the mechanic chair, I found him so ghastly I struggled not to grimace just looking at him. He was gaunt, his skin looked like paper, and his teeth and nails were yellowed and broken with age.

Speaking with him made the hairs on my arm stand, and I could practically see how the Darkness swirled around him. His yellow eyes bore into my soul, making me feel a newfound anxiety, which I was only able to combat by thinking of the Jedi who had come before me, and of all the people above us fighting right now that had placed so much faith in me.

Once this Sith Lord began talking to me, his intentions for me became clear, and all the more terrifying: I was to murder him in a ritualistic sacrifice, and his spirit would inhabit me, fulfilling his prophecy of rising again. If killing him was just what he needed to thrive, how could I do that, if I needed him dead?

I didn't have ample time to consider what I was going to do when Ben fabricated in front of me, and I had to give him his mother's sabre. I hoped that would be enough for him, as I wasn't sure exactly what he was fighting right now. When Palpatine realized what I had done, he had been whisked back as his guards charged me, and I was in a blur of tension.

I had just stuck Luke's sabre in a guard when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ben sprint into view, already running to take on some of my attackers. There was enough space in my heart that wasn't focused solely on the situation around me, where I felt a pang of gratitude and pride for this man, for everything he was doing for his family's legacy.

We moved in a nice synchronization, our movements calculated and fluid as we swiftly eliminated the adversaries. By the time we finished, I stood panting, dripping with sweat and covered in dust, and I looked over at Ben, who was in the same position. He looked over at me, his face stoic, his eyes telling me what he wasn't able to at the moment. He was here for me, I could feel it.

"Ah, yes, the traitor weakling here to support my granddaughter," Palpatine hissed from the darkness where he emerged, still in his chair.

"He's no weakling," I assured him. "And I'm not accepting the title of being your granddaughter." This led Palpatine to erupt into a cackle. Before either Ben or I could do anything, we were being pulled up and yanked towards him. We both resisted it, but the power was so overwhelming, it was difficult.

"Yes, let me see the two of you better, the bond I made up for you," Palpatine was croaking as he had us kneel before him.

"You didn't make this up," Ben piped up. "This dyad is beyond what you are capable of." Then, without warning, Ben grabbed my hand, which was in a claw at my side, and flexed the Force off of him-or, rather, off of us. I don't know how he did it, but it was as though I could feel the Force gather around him and burst forth, like he was pushing it. I watched as the power of it blew Palpatine back into his chair, and watched it singe his decaying digits, but then watched with a mix of curiosity and dread as his fingers grew back, looking much healthier than they had prior to Ben's action. If I could have turned my head, I would've asked Ben what he had done.

"A power," Palpatine was looking at his hands in wonder. "Like the Force of life itself..." I hadn't any idea what he meant, but then suddenly, his hands were stuck in front of him, and it felt as though the very essence of my being was being sucked out of me.

I groaned against the pain, and felt blindly for Ben's Force signature, but it was too entwined with how ours were being muddled together and pulled from us completely. I had to stop this, or Ben and I would both die, and Palpatine would be that much stronger.

I focused on what I had felt when Ben had flexed the Force, and brandished it against Palpatine. I felt the curve of the Force from the air around me, and steadied my breathing as best I could as I shaped it away from me, stunning Palpatine.

I thought I had succeeded in having him release Ben and I, but instead I watched as Palpatine flew Ben back with a grunt, into the cracks of a chasm that lay below the floors of this temple. NO! I mentally screamed, too exhausted to speak, and my heart and mind were reaching out for Ben as I fell back on the floor myself, my eyes shutting.

I felt myself laying in a slightly unnatural position on the cold, jagged ground of the split stone I had been thrown in. My eyes were closed, and I was hovering in a strange space between consciousness and the grey lightness of sleep, and it might have been peaceful, if it weren't for my right leg that was screaming at me in protest. And my mind was still reeling with fatigue over what Palpatine had just done to Rey and I, extracting the power from our bodies to use as his own.

With the sabre Rey had offered, fighting off my ex-Knights had been an easy task. Fighting off Palpatine's guards had also been easy, with some of the weight being shared by Rey, of course. Seeing her in person, even though it hadn't been that long, filled my anxious mind with the calmness that only being around her Light could bring. I knew that I had resolved the right thing by accepting her offer to join the Light. I had been a monster to follow the Darkness to begin with, and a complete moron to not join her the moment such a thing was possible.

When Palpatine began to steal our energy, I resisted with as much might as I could, even though that might began to wane the moment he stuck his hands out in front of him. I knew Rey and I had limited time before we'd be worn down completely, used to fuel Palpatine's rejuvenation that would destroy Rey's friends and allies that fought in the sky above us, accompanied by the sizzling of lightning. When Rey had copied my actions from earlier to stop Palpatine. I felt pride at her doing what I was unable to, at her strength and wit.

I had been flung back, and began to scurry back up, until I was further flung into the position I was now. I could do nothing except listen to Palpatine's cackling, followed by Rey's voice and grunting, the sizzling of sabres, and then Palpatine screaming in agony. Had she defeated Palpatine, somehow? How was that possible, given what Palpatine had prophesied for himself and his granddaughter, and the newfound strength he had garnered from our bond?

I didn't have the space in my head to consider that as I felt Rey's struggle running through the threads of our bond like electricity. Hearing her using every bit of strength she had was one thing, but feeling her struggle was another. I had to get to her. I had to help. She had done so much for me, and in this moment of need, I had to show her I was there for her.

I began to actively try pulling my mind out of the grey smoke of limbo it was in, calling on the Force to aid me. The more I moved into consciousness, the sharper I could feel the pain in my leg. Once I was able to open my eyes, I looked above me, and saw the strikes of lightning past the glow of sabres I knew Rey was using. Her struggle was nearing an end, I could feel that. If I got to her now, I would still have time to help her.

So, I began my climb.

I was lying on my back, peering up at the sky above me, watching as Resistance ships fell through the grey, cloudy sky in flames. I felt dread for my friends, fear for Ben, for not knowing where he was, only grateful I still felt the bond pulsing between us, meaning he was at least alive. I felt disappointment in myself, for not being able to stop Palpatine. I called out to the Force, asking it to be with me one last time, before it felt as though I was going to succumb to the abyss.

But the Force didn't respond with the assuring hum it usually did. Instead, it responded with a chorus of whispers I could barely discern past Palpatine's cackling, and the battling far above me.

"Be with you, we are," one voice spoke.

"We are with you, Rey, we always have been," a deeper voice this time.

"Rey, rise. Let us end this," Master Skywalker? Was that him? My eyes flew around the space I could see without moving, but no Force ghosts were present.

"Rey, all of our work has come to this," Leia's soft voice was firm.

"Rey, finish what we started," another voice I didn't recognize. More voices were layering, telling me to rise, telling me to move forward.

"We are standing with you, Rey. All of the Jedi," a final voice rang clearly in my head. I knew it was true. Generations of a struggle against the Sith had led to this. I was a product of all of their hard work. Leia. Luke. Ben. The Jedis of old, like Yoda, Obi Wan-Kanobi. Even Anakin Skywalker, before the Sith had overtaken him. They were all calling me to finish their duties. I had to use the Force the way it was meant to be used.

With every movement of my bones, I felt pain, but more than that, I felt a strange new strength. It was as if the Force itself was lifting me up. I called forth the sabres with ease, wielding them now. I saw Palpatine look at me with disgust, his brown lips curling away from his yellow teeth, his eyes alight with anger.

I did not care. He would not destroy me. He would not destroy all of us. I turned on the sabres.

"What are you doing, girl?" he called with annoyance.

"I am rising to finish this," I told him with confidence. I walked towards him, surprised he didn't have the chair pull him away again. He wasn't backing down, and neither was I.

"Do you know what you're facing? I'm Darth Sidious, your grandfather, and the Emperor, claiming my rightful place once more," I raised the sabres into the shape of an 'x' before me. I saw the electricity start to flicker between his fingers.

"That may be true," I admitted. "But I-" he struck the sabres with his electricity. I took in a deep breath, digging my heels into the ground, feeling the Lightness of the Force tight around me, supporting me, giving me strength. "I am all the Jedi."

I forced myself forward, watching as Palpatine's stream of electricity shortened as I neared him. I was grunting out my frustration, my pain, both mental and physical. I was crying out for everything those who came before me died for. I was crying for victory.

As I drew near him, he began to wither away. The power the sabres was exhibiting, the power I was exhibiting with the help of the Jedi around me in the Force, was literally making him fade away. He called out in defeat, in anger, in despair. I felt a twinge of triumph as I watched his bones turn to dust and his black cloak blew in shreds in the light wind. I didn't stop inching my way forward until he was gone, completely banished from this plane of existence. I turned off the sabres, clipping them on to my belt, and would have smiled at myself and what I had just conquered, except I felt a strange flux within me. Like something was trying to push its way out of me, leaving behind fatigue in its wake.

I called out mentally to the voices I had heard earlier. I called to Ben. I opened my mouth to say something aloud, but nothing came of it. I collapsed on the ground, the jagged edges of the rocks around me only adding to my pain, and tried to fight it. I did. I really did.

But I could do nothing to stop the calm wave of darkness that overtook me, closing my eyes, enveloping me in the bliss of nothingness.

The last thing I could comprehend was thinking one last thing: I'm so sorry. I was. I was sorry for my mentors, my friends, the rest of the Resistance. For myself. For Ben.

A/N: I'm really not good at writing conflict chapters, I work much better when it's just a few characters interacting without having to follow the original content too much. So sorry, much of this was restricted by the film. Hope you enjoy nonetheless, the next chapter will be much better :)