Hope

After having been mildly electrocuted by R2 once or twice for good measure, when Ben comes to he jolts awake in alarm to find himself bound by cable ties in his onboard quarters, and when his eyes settle on me there's pure wariness.

"Hope," he says slowly, taking in the position he's in, eyes darting in panic to R2 by my side in a plea for help only to find none. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I should ask you that," I say, igniting my saber and standing over him. That betrayal, that anger, only having simmered in the time he's been unconscious. "Tell me, was that Snoke in your head telling you to take me to him?"

He leans away from me now as I wave my saber freely in front of his face, swallowing hard. "Hope, you don't know what you're talking about."

"I think I do," I say, watching as he tries to reach for his saber only to find it missing. "I couldn't find any proper binders but the cable ties were in one of the repair kits. I know they won't hold you and I don't need them to, but while they do you're going to sit and listen to me."

His eyes are wide as he takes me in. "You're insane."

"Maybe, but you're the one who worships a Sith." He's silent now and I tilt my head. "Do you think I don't hear Snoke's voice in your head? Do you think I don't feel what he's trying to make you?"

"Snoke is a friend," he tries to insist and my eyes roll back into my head. "He's guided me-"

"He's deceived you, and you were going to take me to him," I say and feel a wave of guilt wash over him, but nowhere near enough. "I don't know what Snoke is but I know he's manipulating you. I know the path he's dragging you down and do you really think I'd follow you there?"

"Yes," he says, his voice rough but determined. "Because I've seen it. The heirs of Vader standing against the New Republic. That's what you want isn't it? To have the power to make it what we want it to be."

I study him, taking note of the desperate edge to his voice. Analysing every micro expression and emotion he emits to avoid facing the truth in his words. "And what could Snoke possibly offer us?"

"That's what I want to learn," he says carefully. "You were right when you said you were trained to be more than just a Jedi, and if you trust me I can train you to your full potential. But we can't do that with Luke's teachings alone. Don't you want more than this? I know you do. I know you that want to know exactly what you're capable of and Snoke has promised me-"

"I don't care what Snoke's promised you," I say harshly and flinch as he breaks the ties and comes to his feet, now being the one to stand over me as he dissects my defensiveness.

"Why are you resisting your own nature?" he questions and I take a step backwards, refusing to even consider his words. "You asked me to train you to survive and that's what I'm doing. I've seen what's out there, I've seen what's coming, and the only way you're going to survive it is by embracing the darkness not resisting it, so why are you?"

I open my mouth but don't have an answer. We're interrupted by beeping from the cockpit telling us that the ships come out of hyperspace. Knowing we've come to Ossus, knowing that Luke's waiting for us and that I'm the one with the lightsaber, I extend it in warning as I tell him exactly what is going to happen.

"We are going to see Luke and discuss recruitment for the Resistance, and then you can either return to Hosnian Prime with me or you can go down this path alone, because I sure as hell won't be going down it with you."

I try to keep my voice strong, but it wavers as I battle with the force's warning, between the image of the man standing in front of me and the brother I know, but I cannot follow who he is choosing to be.

Then in a single motion he has me trapped to the wall, arms pinned down as he warns "If you ever tell Luke about any of this I'll-"

"You'll what?" I challenge, trying to break free but his grip is bruising. Still, I do not let him see me flinch. "Strike me down?"

In return he roughly grabs my face, his voice venomous and forearm pinning me back. "Do you think this is a game! Do you know what Luke would do if he knew? I was sent away because of what I did protecting you from those kidnappers. What do you think he'd do if he knew I wanted to break away from his order?"

"He would let you leave," I grit out, not understanding what he thinks Luke would possibly to do him.

"If he thought I was going to take his students away, if he thought I'd stand against him-" he cuts himself off, his voice lowering to a whisper. "He's afraid. We both know he's spent years holding us back from our full potential, that he's afraid of what we can do, and fear pushes people to do things you could never imagine."

"You're the one who's afraid," I breathe and there's something dangerous in his eye.

"Exactly."

Harnessing my own fear I push him off and dart out the door, making a beeline for the cockpit as he pursues me through the ship. When I reach the controls I send the ship down hard towards the atmosphere only for him to grab me and throw me to the floor where I'd left him with my own saber suddenly in his hand.

"Ben-" I gasp out in shock more than pain as he pins me down with a boot to my shoulder and I look up at him in utter disbelief, wincing at the weight he uses to keep me pinned to the floor, only removing his foot when R2 threatens him with his electric rod.

Even then it's only replaced by the weight of the force pinning me where I lay and he stands over me as he instructs "When we land you're going to smile and put on a show. I know you can do that. You're going to act like nothing's wrong-"

"Or what?" I ask him again, still clinging to the belief that he'd never hurt me. Not truly. "You don't scare me Ben."

He looks at R2 and before I can yell out he's used the force to push R2 back into the corridor and shut the door so he can't get to me. Fear finally begins to set in as he senses the compartment where his saber is and I'm holding my breath as he ignites it and brings it to my face, feeling the heat of it against my cheek, eyes pressed shut as I try to edge away from it.

"I should," he says and perhaps the fear comes from the fact that I genuinely don't know where his mind is at as he says "I will talk to Luke about recruiting students for our mother's resistance, but what I need you to understand is that he has been lying to us and what happens after today will depend on him. Not me, not you, him."

My voice is hoarse. "What is that meant to mean?"

He withdraws his saber and disengages it whilst R2 tries to get in, having the audacity to at least look half horrified as he releases me, the weight off my chest finally allowing me to breathe properly.

"Search your feelings," he instructs as that fear turns to pure bitterness and he extends his hand to me. "You can deny it, but I know you've seen it too. Luke turning on us, the Republic turning on us-"

Without accepting his hand I kick his legs out from beneath him with a grunt as I find my footing, throwing him back into the wall as he stumbles and taking back my saber to hold it to his throat as R2 finally breaks in.

Ben doesn't resist, and is deadly calm as I look him in the eye and warn "I've seen what will come of you. A slave, just as Vader was, but weaker." His eyes burn as I threaten "You're no Vader and if you ever follow his path... I will kill you myself."

Even as I say the words I don't know how much truth there is to him, even so his eyes widen and there's hurt in his voice. "So you're ready to condemn me just like Luke?"

"Ben, you know that's not true-"

"Isn't it?" he asks me and every bit of anger I've held against him he turns back on me with calculated cruelty. "All I've ever done is protect you, train you, raise you. I thought you'd be the one person who would be on my side, who'd understand-"

"I do- I am," I stammer as he gently brings my saber away from his throat. "Ben, I know you're better than this. I know the brother who raised me, trained me- this isn't him because I know that my brother could never, ever, hurt me."

"I haven't hurt you," he says and I stare in disbelief at the fact he genuinely believes those words. "I'm making you stronger. I'm teaching you to survive."

The sound I make is somewhere between a laugh and a sob as I realise the depth of his delusion and every instinct I have screams one command even if my heart tells me another.

To run when I want to fight.

I look to see the temple coming into sight and know every word I say will determine his future, and mine.

"You- you are," I struggle to get out as I force myself to harness every lesson I've learned from my training on both Naboo and here. Deception, concealing my emotions, putting on a show as if my life depends on it.

Because for the first time I realise that it just might.

"I know that this is difficult for you to accept," Ben says, his voice gentle enough that I could almost mistake it for my brother's. Almost. "But once you do you will become stronger for it and I promise that together you and I will stand against the New Republic and finish what our grandfather started."

I refuse to let my thoughts betray me even as horror threatens to overwhelm and nod, leaning over to the console to bring us down to the ground, focusing my mind on keeping my hands from shaking.

"R2, you won't say anything to Luke will you?" Ben says and my fingertips go white from how hard I grip the controls, noticing dark clouds appearing in the atmosphere. "You're loyal to Hope now, like you were loyal to Anakin. You'd never betray her."

"He's loyal," I say, knowing R2 served my grandmother long before Anakin and that he is no stranger to a ruse. "He'd never betray me."

"Good," is all he says and I look at R2. He knows better than anyone just how delicate this situation is, one misstep could be catastrophic, and no words or beeps need to be exchanged between us to have an understanding.

I'm deadly still as Ben pushes my hair out of my face to make it appear as if I hadn't been tossed about the room and I roughly braid it to keep it out of the way considering I can't predict what he may do once we're alone with Luke.

"Are you ready?" he asks me and I nod despite fighting the urge to cry like a scared child, unable to recognise the man in front of me with every passing second.

"Yes."

"Smile," he says as he nudges me towards the door. "It's your birthday after all."

The boarding ramp lowers and Luke waits outside, R2 stays close to me as we head towards him.

"Luke," I breathe, more relieved to see him than I've ever been and he's as surprised as I am when I hug him. "I'm sorry for taking off-"

"It's alright, as long as you're alright," he says, worry thick in his voice. "I felt it through the force and received a message from Leia. What happened?"

"Visions," I answer and take his hands in mine, a gesture which only alarms in him, even more so when he can feel them shake. "Can we go inside somewhere please? We need to talk."

Ben's close behind me and Luke looks to R2 and then to me before nodding and forcing a smile. "Of course."

There is hardly a foot of distance between Ben and I as we walk into Luke's hut which sits not far from the temple. We sit down across from him and the tension in the room is suffocating, even as Luke tries to break it.

"First of all, happy birthday Hope," he says, R2 touching my leg as he parks himself between Ben and I. "I'm glad you were able to spend some of it with your mother, but tell me, what happened?"

"She-" Ben begins but Luke cuts him off.

"I want Hope to tell me," he says and Ben sets his jaw. "It's alright Hope, tell me what you saw."

'It wasn't so much what I saw, it was what I felt," I tell him honestly. "It- for it to make sense I'll have to start from the beginning. Mom's put together an organisation to fight what the New Republic won't. The Resistance."

A heaviness settles over him. "Your visions-"

"I've told you that something's coming and I was right," I say, my voice desperate. "We were gathered about with Admiral Ackbar and the rest when we turned the holonews on and they announced the formation of a Separatist government who are calling themselves the successor to the Empire; The First Order. The moment I heard those words Luke it was this wave of darkness and it felt like my mind was being torn to shreds. It- it was like I was being tortured."

There is more I'll tell him when we're alone, but for now this will have to suffice.

"She was fine when it passed," Ben dismisses and that is what truly alarms Luke, his dismissal.

"We've returned to recruit students to join the Resistance," I interrupt before an argument can ensue. "War is coming and we need to be prepared for when it does. I suggest bringing a handful of older students back to Hosnian Prime where Mom can brief us on what she's uncovered about the enemy."

Luke sighs deeply, the heaviness surrounding him concerning. "All those years and all those lives... we fought so your generation would not have to."

"Well the Republic's thrown all that away haven't they?" Ben quips and I keep a hand on R2's dome. "We need to take up arms-"

"Against the darkness," I finish and Luke looks between us with caution, and then resignation.

"I know it seems glorious, running off to war," Luke begins and then removes the glove from his now skeletal hand. "But it isn't. We have fought too hard to let a third generation sacrifice their lives-"

"You told us it is the duty of the Jedi to be vigilant," I remind him. "This is vigilance."

"No, you might think it is but all I see in front of me is bloodlust and a thirst for something very much against what the Jedi stand for," Luke says, although for once his words aren't solely directed towards me. "Why do you think the Jedi use lightsabers, can either of you answer me?"

"So each strike we take with it is intentional," Ben answers when I can't and Luke nods.

"Exactly," Luke says and looks to me. "Hope, you were once taken with a lightsaber rifle we found many years ago. A prototype of a weapon made by a curious Jedi who had thought of other ways to utilise the energy of a kyber crystal, but ultimately it would be kept in archives as it went against the purpose of a Jedi's weapon. The mission of the Jedi is not to be seen as powerful or to wage war against an enemy we know nothing of, but to stand tall against the darkness." He sees me go to open my mouth and raises a hand. "Patience. For once will you allow me to get to my point before interrupting."

I press my mouth shut in mild offence and frustration, not having come for a lecture but to take action before it's too late.

"Our tools reflect that mission. We all wield the same weapon with minor variations fitted to our own needs. Ben, you've built your saber to use your physical build to your advantage and for it to be sturdy enough to withstand great amounts of force. Hope you've built yours to use your agility and speed to your advantage, with yours being more decorative than Ben's because you made yours as a homage to your mother's legacy."

"Luke, I know why you're telling us this," I try to stress. "But this isn't the time to debate philosophy."

"Considering you're planning to throw yourself into a war I think it is," he refutes and tells me what he's told us time and time before. "Anyone can fire a blaster, and thanks to your father you've become quite competent with those as well." Ben scoffs slightly as he shakes his head, having learned that the hard way. "But very few can safely and skillfully wield a lightsaber. As it stands the Jedi are still myth to much of the galaxy, and our lightsabers are what we are identified by. We want the greater galaxy to see the lightsaber as a weapon that brings justice and peace, not destruction. We want our opponents to know that we use a weapon that requires intention, training, precision and choice. The lightsaber symbolises the care in which we approach the force and the care we must take when wielding it. It is not about power, but integrity. It reminds us that while we could do more, we very purposefully do not."

"Luke-"

"Repeat those last words to me," he instructs. "Both of you."

"It is not about power, but integrity," Ben and I reluctantly repeat back to him, the words turning sour in my mouth. "It reminds us that while we could do more, we very purposefully do not."

Ben's eyes are on me as I feel myself questioning everything I've been taught about a Jedi's place in the galaxy, the refusal to believe that I cannot do more than this, and Luke can feel it too.

As can Ben, and suddenly I find myself doubting if he's so wrong after all.

"Hope?"

"Why?" I question, my voice hoarse. "Why don't we? We have the power to change the galaxy for the better, so why are we sitting here meditating instead of taking action?"

"Because the Jedi's purpose is balance, not revolution," he says, his voice gentle but cautious, each word carefully chosen as if it had been told to him long ago by another Jedi. "That is the job of politicians, ours is to ensure peace whilst these changes occur. As such we choose a weapon with limitations, with difficulties. You cannot use a lightsaber to destroy a city or a planet. Every death or injury it inflicts must be precisely chosen. The lightsaber tells the galaxy the Jedi are protectors, not destroyers."

"And what if we want revolution?" I ask and Luke's face changes now.

"Then you should be focusing your attention on your mother's line of work and this organisation she's putting together rather than your training, because the tenants of the Jedi are incompatible with those of a politician-"

"I don't want to be a politician," I say, even if I know I have to be. "I want to be a soldier."

He sighs deeply and asks "Do you think an old veteran doesn't understand what you're feeling? Do you think I wasn't the same at your age, searching for adventure and an excuse to be up in an x-wing? But running into a war with the intention to destroy is not the answer when we can preserve the peace that still stands as the Jedi have done for thousands of years."

Having lived on Naboo, amongst Padme's family and studied her speeches, I know exactly whose heart he possesses. But I also know whose heart I possess and unlike him my mother didn't fight for peace, mine fought for justice. She wasn't a peacekeeper, she was a revolutionary.

He must sense my thoughts for he says "At the beginning of Leia's own journey with the force she felt the same frustration as you do now, but she understood the dangers that came with wielding the force with the same intentions you have, of how dangerous a slope it can be. She understood that you can have the power to change the galaxy, or mastery over the force, but not both. Not without great danger. Surely you understand why."

Reluctantly I nod, knowing that power corrupts, that such power leads to creatures like Palpatine, but Ben is less understanding and my agreeance with Luke only seems to anger him.

"Enough philosophy," he says shortly as he suddenly stands and orders "Hope, outside. We're going to train."

"Ben-" I begin to protest but the sharpness to his voice makes me fall silent.

"Get up, and you should be addressing me as Master."

Luke goes to open his mouth but I quieten him with a single shake of my head, knowing it's a confrontation that Ben's craving, and advise "Luke, you should call Mom and talk with her about recruitment."

His face is drawn in concern, and with dread boiling in my blood I stand, forcing myself to be stronger than the fear beginning to take over as I follow Ben outside, silently commanding R2 to stay with Luke.

But R2 refuses and follows me outside, not daring to let me out of his sight and as I turn my head back I see Luke reaching for the equipment to send a transmission.

"You want to fight, to start a revolution," Ben begins as we find our way into the open space between the huts and the temple, not a soul in sight as a storm begins to brew. "You asked me to teach you to survive-" suddenly I'm jumping back as he lunges at me, barely missing his saber as I dodge his attack. "You'll need to be better than that."

"Ben-" I begin, unable to keep the tremor from my voice as I try to de-escalate, to keep everything from falling apart until... my voice cracks upon realising I can't see the end of this darkness. "I don't want to fight you."

In response he strikes me to the ground with the back of his hand and for a split second I'm once again on that bridge in the midst of space, clutching my face in shock as cold tears slip down my cheeks. My eyes find R2 and upon my nod he makes a beeline for Luke's hut but Ben is hardly phased.

"If you're going to run off and join a rebellion you'll need to be stronger than that," he challenges, his shadow on the ground taking the same form it took in our grandmother's tomb until the sun's blocked out by the brewing storm and darkness settles over the temple. "You're weak, do you think your enemies will show you mercy? There is no mercy."

"Stop," I spit out, a desperate plea as a shock splinters my mind at those words, but he's too far gone.

"Oh? Oh now you're acting innocent, acting like I'm the only one who's insane, who's violent? If you're going to act like you're better than me then prove it," he pushes as that shock burns into something more violent, and he looks to see Aylee leading some of the younglings outside for a class. "Go on, show them that I'm not the only one hiding that darkness, show them what it means to be the heir of Vader-"

I cry out weakly as a brutal wave of shocks course through my body and my eyes open to see my reflection looking back at me on the bridge, tears staining my now hollow face and bloody nails grasping at a shock collar around my neck.

And the pain... oh god the pain.

In my mind I hear her voice, hoarse and unrecognisable, numbly reciting "There is no mercy."

Ben's hand closes around my bruised arm and an animalistic scream's torn from my throat as my mind splinters and I swing back at him with my saber, the tip burning the robe he wears as he narrowly misses being cut in two. I've found my footing as he stumbles back and with each step all I know is that I need to cut him down.

For just a moment there's snow beneath my feet and the sky's black, and in the next lightning crackles overheard as I make my way to him. He rolls to avoid my strike and then he's on his feet, meeting my saber as I swing for his neck. He pushes me back with a brutal force, the earth being torn up beneath my feet as I skid back but I flail only momentary before I'm ripping a brick from one of the nearby huts to hurl it at his head.

He dodges it with a frustrating ease and I leap with my saber raised high but he merely deflects the strike as if this is a game to him, and the moment my feet are on the ground he's taunting me.

"You'll have to do better than-"

He swallows his next words with a choke as he reaches for his throat, and I raise him above the ground before slamming him hard into a nearby tree and watching him crumple.

Just as he's pushing himself to his feet I run and throw myself up into the air, spinning to kick him across the face only for him to catch my ankle to throw me down but not before I grab him by the collar to throw him over me, both of us hitting the ground hard.

And that's when I hear his voice.

Get up.

I'm scrambling to my feet at the same time Ben is, my saber all but forgotten as I shove him hard, struggling against the massive frame of him until he taunts "Is that the best you've got?"

He keels over as I send the heel of my boot into his knee cap and he catches my strike the moment before my blade can sear through him, going on the defensive to break my attack. At the same moment we move to repel each other with a force push and it's as we become locked in a battle of sheer strength with the force I realise this is what he's wanted all along.

This whole show- it's been for one purpose and one purpose only. To see what I'm capable of when I give into my anger.

And so as I meet his eye I do just that.

With a scream I overpower him, sending him flying back into the ground and with each step towards him thunder booms overhead, my anger guiding each and every impulse as it screams at me to end this. He's on his back watching with wide eyes as I raise my saber, held tight in my trembling hand, but not tight enough as it's torn free the moment before I can strike him down.

We both look to see my saber in Luke's hand, who stands mere feet away utterly horrified, and past him Aylee watches from the entrance of the temple with the children behind her, mouth open in disbelief before ushering them inside.

I look back to Ben on the ground, his chest heaving and my hands shaking as it dawns on me what I was about to do, and I have never been so terrified, never so out of control.

And he pushed me here.

There's a tremor in Luke's voice as he orders "Inside. Now."

I don't help Ben to his feet, instead stumbling inside Luke's hut fighting hyperventilation as they follow after me, R2 clinging to my leg and urging me to sit down and right now he's the only voice I'm willing to listen to.

"R2..." I breathe, but physically can't manage any more words as Ben and Luke enter the hut, already arguing.

"We were training and she just snapped," Ben insists, and I scoff in disbelief, but there were hardly any witnesses who saw what provoked me to it. No. Of course Aylee and the rest only saw me attack him unprovoked.

If I believed him to be smart enough I'd have thought he'd planned that too, but no, he walked out there with one intention only which was to make me snap. He wanted Luke to see and didn't care who else witnessed it, Aylee and the rest coming out whe they did was just the icing on the cake for him.

And I see a side to my brother that I never knew existed.

A manipulator.

But if he's determined to take me down then I'm taking him down with me.

"In the morning you are going to return to Hosnian Prime to your mother," Luke instructs me specifically, as if he can tell me what to do.

"She's unstable and takes no responsibility for her actions," Ben rants and I tilt my head to the side knowing the ammunition I have against him. "She has no dedication to the Jedi path, she's reckless and chaotic and has no respect for the force. She is a ticking time bomb and everyone can see it."

I nod slowly, feeding off of my own spite as I say the words he'll never forgive me for. "Did you mention to Luke the part where you tried to take me to your old friend Snoke?"

His face darkens and there's a moment of heavy silence before he whispers under his breath "Traitor."

As that darkness settles over us all I find myself feeding off of something more dangerous than just anger, but still it fuels me as I spit back "At least I'm not a delusional, violent-"

"Enough!" Luke scolds and orders "Hope, go pack your things. I want to speak with Ben alone."

"I'm violent?" Ben questions, ignoring Luke completely as he retorts "Says the one who set a man on fire."

At this point I couldn't care less for the blood on my hands. "After you nearly killed him."

"And you're the one who did kill him!"

"And who threw our father into a wall and threatened Mom when she tried to keep you from taking me away!"

"So that's on par with murder?" he scoffs dismissively, still trying to paint me as the one that's dangerous.

"I don't give a shit about killing some lowlife and I'd do it again without blinking an eye!" I yell and scarcely recognise my own voice, something more animalistic than human. "You're the one who's out of their mind, not me!"

"Really? You shot me and then tried to kill me!"

"I stunned you but maker knows I wish I fucking shot you!" I rage, my voice cracking as I prepare to launch myself at him. "You're the one who pushed me to do it after you tried to betray me and take me to Snoke!"

"Enough!" Luke explodes as we've never heard him but I've already used the force to throw Ben through the stone wall of the hut, leaving it partially collapsed and Luke stands there in disbelief as Ben tries to brush the rubble off of himself.

"You two need to wake up and realise you are brother and sister, not rivals and certainly not enemies," Luke scolds as Ben comes to his feet. "As for everything I've just heard I will speak with your mother and decide what to do with the two of you because at this rate you're going to be the death of me."

"Says the man who thought Darth Vader was redeemable but not his own niece and nephew," I spit out in a moment of anger at being the one taking the blame and that hits a nerve.

"Now you know that is not the truth," he says, the panic in his voice the only thing that convinces me that he means those words. "But the two of you have a power that has not been seen since Anakin Skywalker, and one of you is out of control."

"She's not out of control," Ben argues in my defence despite saying the opposite just moments ago out of spite and I can't comprehend it, feeling as though I may just go mad at Ben's unpredictability. "She needs guidance that you can't give her."

Luke nods slowly. "You're right, she does. She needs guidance that neither of us can give her which is why she will be going to Leia after she has fixed that wall and learned there is a price to destruction," he lectures, his eyes on me now. "Especially when you use the force in anger."

"I watched Anakin Skywalker slaughter children, do not lecture me on anger," I warn him, still haunted by the vision on Coruscant. "And if you were so concerned I'd turn out like him then maybe you should have let me train properly instead of holding me back! Although that didn't seem to work for Ben did it?"

Ben gapes at me in offence but I can hardly give a damn at this point. He knows it's the truth. If I'm a failure so's he. We're united on that front at least.

"No I shouldn't have let you train at all," he corrects and my face falls. "I knew when you were young you had neither the discipline nor the self control to follow the Jedi path without disaster, you are unpredictable and impulsive and this is where it has led."

Ben steps between Luke and I, his hands on my shoulders to keep me back as I challenge "So what are you going to do about that?"

"Nothing, he's going to do nothing and neither are you," Ben says and takes my arm to point me towards the door. "Go get ready to leave, I'll sort this out."

"No," Luke forbids. "She will stay and learn the consequences of using the dark side of the force. If she wants to talk about what it did to Anakin Skywalker then I'll tell her exactly how it corrupted him. He didn't turn overnight Hope, it was incidents like these that built up until he fell."

I looked at him now in pure disbelief that he still believes I'm the one who's fallen. "You're comparing me to Vader?"

Me? Not Ben. Me.

"I am warning you that your actions and your anger have consequences and that your grandfather should serve as a cautionary tale," he says, and I see the regret in his eyes with each word, the remorse, but he stands his ground. "And until you are able to control your emotions I cannot allow you to continue your training. If that means this is the end of your Jedi path then so be it, because I cannot in good conscience stand by and allow the darkness to corrupt you and twist your mind into what Anakin Skywalker became."

"She is my apprentice and she will train how I see fit," Ben argues as he takes my saber from Luke and presses it into my hand. "I'll take care of this. Go pack your things and wait outside, then we're leaving for good."

It's then the shadow's stripped back just enough to unveil his intentions, all of this- all of this to turn me to his side and what frightens me most is that I could almost trust him over Luke.

But I've seen what will happen if I follow Ben.

And so with a stiff nod I make a dash outside, R2 following. Night's fallen as I run to the temple, lightning crackling in the sky as I make my way inside to my shared quarters with Aylee. Determined to get my things and leave without Ben, to steal his ship and take off before he can try to take me back to Elphrona or wherever the hell else he plans on going.

I can hear Luke yelling after Ben as he storms from Luke's hut to his own, no doubt to collect his scriptures and holocrons, and I'm in the middle of packing my own when Aylee confronts me.

"What was that?"

I hardly stop to look at her. "What was what?"

"Hope," she says and grabs my hand to stop me as I try to unceremoniously shove the sacred texts inside a rucksack. "Are you seriously doing this again? Running away-"

"I'm sorry, weren't you the one who told me it would be best for everyone if I just left," I spit back at her, at this point at my wits end with not knowing what's going to come out of the mouths of the people I care about.

"You nearly killed your brother!" she exclaims, having only seen what Ben wanted her to see and I can't be bothered trying to convince her of the truth. "You would have if Master Luke hadn't intervened."

My voice is stiff as I resume my packing, desperate to leave before Ben realising I'm planning on leaving without him. "Is that what you think?"

"That's what I saw," she argues and I lock my jaw, not wanting to meet her eye as she says "You've never been this unhinged before, after finding out about your grandfather I understand-"

"No you don't understand," I say, tossing the bag aside to finally let it out. "No one has wanted to understand! Ever since I was a kid Luke's always been against my training and would never tell me why, now I understand it's because he's afraid I'll end up like Vader while Ben's the one losing his mind! Ben's the one who-"

"You're the only one losing your mind Hope," she says remorsefully and tears of frustration burn in my eyes. "No one else will say it so I will. You are scaring people, you are scaring the younglings, and you're scaring me."

"I'm scaring you?" I repeat mockingly, knowing I'm not the one she should be afraid of, and her face is grave. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," she says sharply. "I thought Ben was the one who'd give into his emotions, but you- Hope you need help."

"What I need is to get the hell off this damn planet," I grit out defensively as I abandon my packing to just make a break for it, but as it hits me that this may be the last time I step foot on this planet I make one last appeal to her as I grab her hands for the sake of the friend I'd had. "I want you to come with me."

She just looks back at me in bewilderment. "What?"

"You were right about Ben," I whisper in panic, knowing that if she won't leave with me that she can at least warn Luke. "Aylee I know you think I'm the one that's losing my mind and maybe I am, but he's the one who's pushed me here. I'm going back to Hosnian Prime and I'm leaving now before he knows where I've gone."

"You're afraid," she says, taking in my trembling hands and sees the tears in my eyes. "Hope..."

"You were right and I'm sorry," I cry and feel her own conflict as she pushes back my hair and sees what has to be a bruise by now. "Come with me away from here and we can make things right-"

"I can't," she whispers and looks towards the door. "My life is here, this temple is my purpose."

"I don't understand," I say, remembering all the dreams we once had. "What changed so much?"

"You did Hope," she says painfully. "And so did I. Unlike you I can't afford to live my life chasing whatever whim takes over."

"What?"

"You live your life ruled by passion, and that's something I'll never be able to give you," she says in no uncertain words. "Maybe once I thought differently, but I've seen where that passion takes you Hope."

"You know, I always knew you hated acknowledging your feelings but I never knew you were a liar," I say, having become familiar with what deception feels like. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Listen to the force and you'll have your answer," she says, removing her hands from mine. "But if you won't then it'll be best for everyone here if you leave and don't come back."

Tears burn in my eyes and a sob catches in my throat when I try to breathe, utterly at a loss at where this has come from or how she could be so cruel to condemn me. Yet all I can manage is a single word.

"Why?"

Her expression is pained, but there's little remorse. "I pray you'll never know."

"Fuck that," I spit out and her eyes widen, any hope I had in the connection we'd once had disappearing but still desperate for someone to trust, for someone to help me, and reach for her hands. "Aylee, there is something dark out there and we both have a part to play in destroying it."

"Hope-"

"Please," I plead and she's taken aback by the sheer desperation in my voice as I grasp her face. "Run away with me and we can destroy this darkness, I can end this war before it starts, I-"

She pulls my hands away and her voice is strained. "Can't see you Hope? If you continue down this path you'll destroy everything you touch."

Something in my heart and mind irreparably breaks at those words and I don't look back as she calls my name. R2 follows as I march through the halls of the temple to find my way outside only to be hit by startlingly cold air and lightning in the very near distance.

I hesitate as I look towards Luke's hut, but instead make my break for the ship yard to leave before Ben knows I'm gone. My ship's still on Hosnian Prime, but Ben's is there for the taking and I rush onboard with R2 following, only for my stomach to drop as I touch my side and find something missing.

"Shit, my lightsaber's in the temple," I breathe, realising I must have put it down when I was packing, and make the split second decision to run back for it.