#everything can be traced back to lightsaber duels

[kpopnstarwars]

Burn: Darth Maul x Reader

A/N: once again the picture is not mine (like obviously i could never make anything as good as that)

Warnings: violence, family problems, mentions of sexual stuff, swearing,

Word count: <1500

You want to curl up into a ball and cry. This isn't what families are for; families are supposed to be tight knit and able to rely on each other for support, not whatever this mess is. Sometimes, they'll come to you to dump their problems on you, sometimes to complain about each other, sometimes to yell at you, to take their stupid anger out on you.

Sometimes, they just ignore your entire existance.

It's okay, you tell yourself. Everyone goes through rough spots in life, and arguements are just a learning experience, right? Mistakes happen, not everything can always be perfect, it will all sort itself out over time, and they'll all heal and make up.

That's what you tell yourself, anyway. For now, you just stalk around the cold hallways of your ship, wishing they wouldn't comm you so often, interrupting the artificial calm you've made for yourself inside your head with their petty words. They like to pin the blame on you, for not being there often enough, for not being there to back them up or disagree with that brother or listen to that parent. Everything seems cold, impassive and uncaring - the glitching blue of their image as they rant to you, the dull grey of the walls of your ship, the dead eyes that stare back at you in the mirror. You're tired of it, and even that exhausting emotion is so familiar you hardly feel anything but that numb sort of cool when you walk bare foot in snow for too long.

The only solace is Maul.

He burns, bright and livid, never passive, never anything but intense - intense in his gaze, in his actions, in his blazing passion. The Sith don't do things half heartedly, he tells you, and you believe him. Maul never fails to make you feel something, whether it's that damned ache in your chest when he holds you at night or the pain that spears through you when you duel. His flames warm your soul to the point of burning, and the pain of love is a relief.

You want him now. Not to trace the black tattoos marked into his crimson skin, not to drag your lips down his sculpted chest, but to fight through the exhaustion until there's nothing left but hardened instincts and the whirl of glowing blades. Grabbing your lightsaber from your bedside table, you stalk through the corridors of the ship on high alert. When you're in this mood, both of you know anything goes for a battle ground - he could ambush you at any moment, he could pop out of the vents in the ceiling, and you'd be forced to react. At some point, he'll recognise the change in your force signature - he may have noticed it already - and you'll temporarily go from lovers to hunters. It barely takes a breath to slip into that headspace; your family is gone from your head, your worries flee, chased away by primal senses that slide into place, snarling and ready for another bout.

Keeping your footsteps quiet, you strain your ears, listening for the soft pad of his deadly footsteps, searching for the way the air warms and wilts around him. It's as if he takes in life, soaking it up and pulling it around his soul like a shield. Something in the air changes, and you perk up, knowing his close. His presence is hard to miss, strong and tantilising, beckoning to you in a way those from the Light Side never did. There is no doubt that he is a Sith, no doubt that the sight of him quickens your pulse and sends your heart thrumming against your ribcage.

The pressure of the air changes. You don't turn, don't let the movement expose your left side to him; instead, you bring your lightsaber up behind your head, blocking the swing that many Jedi would have missed. But not you - you are no Jedi. You are a Grey, your blade shining white, a mockery of purity. You are nothing near pure, not with your dealings with a Sith, not with the things you've done, not with your burning attachment, as bright as a million stars.

Maul's chuckle sounds, soft and near seductive in its tone, and now you turn to face him, a smirk pulling at the corners of your lips as you meet him, blow for blow. You don't look away from his golden eyes for a second, holding his gaze and sinking claws into it, reading every single move he'll make a second before he'll make it. His eyes narrow, watching you.

'There's something different about you today,' he murmurs, his soft, eloquent voice somehow still audible over the clash of your lightsabers. 'There's nothing different,' you snarl.

You can feel yourself slipping. Your upperhand is falling away, because he's begun to break you from the headsapce you were in before. Mention of your family, even indirectly and unintentionally loosens your grasp on your headspace, prying your grip off finger by finger, and you falter, breaking eye contact for barely a millisecond, but it's enough.

Maul takes the chance. Slipping past your normally impenetrable guard, he flicks a foot out, causing you to stumble, and knocks your weapon out of your hand. Chest heaving, he levels his lightsaber with your throat. The bloody crimson of it thrums as if taunting you, mocking you for letting something as stupid as a family arguement to throw you, and you snarl, hurling out a hand in response, attempting to use the Force to send your hilt spiralling back into your fingers.

You don't get the chance to return it to your hold. Maul grabs your wrist, halting your movements, and you glare up at him, a challenge in your eyes. You don't expect to see what you do in his gaze - concern. He's never like this, not when you're fighting, not when both of you should be thinking of nothing but the reflexes and instincts that guide you to move in the way you do: around each other, with each other, lethal yet perfectly secure. You are both partners in a deadly dance and combatants in an elegant battle.

'What's wrong.' You growl, trying to pull out of his grasp. 'Nothing's wrong, Maul.' 'Then why did I feel that in the Force?' He gestures vaguely at your head, knowing that you'll have no problem understanding. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' you hiss, eyes darkening. 'I think you do,' he replies, bringing his face close to yours. 'I don't know why you don't want to admit it, though. So, I'll ask you again. What's bothering you?' You finally manage to escape his iron grip. 'Nothing.' 'Why can't you tell me?' 'Why can't you let it go?' 'Why are you lying to me?' 'Why can't you just leave it?'

Maul falls silent at your tone. In his eyes, concern still lurks, but above it, his temper has risen, golden and burning as his gaze. You don't want to talk to him about this, you want to let yourself deal with it alone, because what can he do? Murder your whole family? Maybe it'd give you some peace of mind, but you really would prefer if he didn't, just because of the stuff you'd have to clear up after it. There are far more important things in the galaxy for you to worry about. You begin to turn away, deciding to walk off back to your quarters and wallow in shame for letting Maul see this part of you, but he leans forward, taking your chin in his fingers.

'I can't just leave it, because it's worrying you. It's weighing heavily on your mind - it must be important. It takes a lot to distract you, darling.' You laugh deprecatingly. 'It's not important, Maul.' 'It is if it keeps you from beating my ass,' he huffs, crossing his arms. 'You almost had me.'

It's obvious to you now that he's not going to stop bothering you about it. You sigh, hugging yourself in your own arms: a desperate attempt to shield yourself from Maul's eyes; eyes that will pick you apart with just a look, able to see through anything you display to the outer world, able to see parts of you you're not even sure you're aware of yourself. There's no escaping him, and maybe you don't want that. Maybe you're just scared he'll think you're weak for letting your family piss you off, but then, maybe he'll think nothing of it. Maybe you should simply stop worrying about how he percieves you.

'My family are being bastards,' you mumble before you chicken out. He smiles. 'There we go.' You cock your head. 'That's it?' 'What else is there to say?' He asks. 'They're bastards for blaming everything on you, then complaining to you about their own shit. I'm glad you've realised that, but I won't kill them unless you tell me to, darling.' You huff. 'You're rude.' 'You know you love me,' he answers.

You let Maul wrap his arms around you. Leaning into his chest, you bask in his warmth, letting the flames consume you, letting the burn thaw your heart and defrost your emotions until you're not numb any more. Until you can feel again.

#star wars #darth maul #maul opress #maul x reader #darth maul x reader

[soutasnotebook]

But consider all of the cast with lightsabers.

Oh my word

I’ve sorted the characters according to their introductory affiliation.

Anteiku/Re Affiliates

Kaneki Ken - After inheriting a very special bright red/Darth Maul two-sided saber from the fallen Rize Kamishiro, he finds himself hunted by the Dark Side.

Nagachika Hideyoshi - His is light blue, like Luke’s. 

Yoshimura Kuzen - He’s long retired his purple lightsaber, except when he brings it out to clean up after his daughter, Darth Owl. It used to be his lover Ukina’s, from whom he learned how to wield it. 

Kamishiro Rize - She was exceptionally skilled with her two-sided saber, but is currently saber-less. 

Kirishima Touka - Hers is dark blue and she wields it well. 

Koma Enji - Green.  

Irimi Kaya - Green. This is why she and Koma first fought in the 20th ward, before Yoshimura convinced them there was room for two green sabers.

Yomo Renji - Darksaber all the way.

Kosaka Yoriko - Yellow-green, but she would rather not use it. 

Hinami Feuguchi - Yellow, two-sided, and she possesses uncanny skill. 

Nishiki Nishio - green and cracked. 

Nishino Kimi - green (this is how she met Nishiki). He then cracked her crystal by accident, and learned the power of love by her forgiveness. 

Tsukiyama Family

Tsukiyama Shuu - the gourmet’s is indigo to match his hair, and he adores it to the point that he talks to it. Still, he pines after Kaneki’s two-sided saber.

Karren von Rosewald - Servants weren’t supposed to have sabers, but Shuu bought her a rose pink one for her birthday one year. She’s loved him ever since.

Matsumae - the family bodyguard possesses a darksaber. It still thrills her every time she lights it.

Mirumo - passed down the indigo saber to Shuu.

Chie Hori - her tiny green saber was so delectable she and Shuu had to be friends.

Clowns

Uta - Darksaber, but with a cracked crystal. He and Yomo used to make a fierce darksaber team. 

Itori - Hers is bright pink but rarely used, unless you’re counting when she gets drunk and waves it about Helter Skelter pretending she’s a Samurai. 

Hoito Roma - She seemed to have an ordinary red saber. Instead she literally has a four-sided saber she uses for utter destruction. 

Nimura Furuta - he started the series by pushing pipes onto Rize so he could steal her lightsaber, but now that Kaneki has inherited it, he hired Kanou to make a duplicate. Someday, though, he will get the real one. 

Rio/Shikorae - is not trusted with one. Probably for the best.

Nico - pink but cracked. 

Donato Porpora - Purple, cracked.

Aogiri Tree

Kirishima Ayato - dark blue, just like Touka. *pouts*

Yamori - Sabers cauterize wounds. That’s boring. 

Tatara - Green - half of a two sided saber. 

Yoshimura Eto - Darth Owl has a fierce purple lightsaber and exceptional skill.

Noro - Darksaber. 

CCG

Amon Koutarou - Blue-white and pure. 

Takizawa Seidou - blue, but he cracked the crystal while insisting he could make his own.

Mado Akira - green. She made her own, nice and neat. 

Houji Kousuke- the second half of Tatara’s green saber is his. This is the root of their enmity. 

Mado Kureo - His fascination with lightsabers has lead him to have a collection of every color, plus every cracked version. He was missing a green one before Akira made hers. 

Marude Itsuki - It used to be yellow. Inspired by Yoshitoki, he also decorated the label. It did not turn out well, but thankfully, Juuzou Suzuya wrecked it. 

Washuu Yoshitoki - yellow. He’s decorated the label. 

Washuu Matsuri - spent half his childhood (literally half) whining for one. Now he has a yellow one and isn’t not as exciting as he hoped. 

Washuu Tsuneyoshi - He wishes it was purple, but alas, his is yellow. 

Kuriowa Takeomi - He got so good at beating ghouls up with his hands his dad was reluctant to hand down their family’s white saber. 

Kuriowa Iwao - He used to have a white saber. Now he has an orange one, because he gave the white one to Takeomi.

Aura Kiyoko - Blue and damn does she use it well.

Tanakamaru Mougan - Pink. He loves the color. 

Shinohara Yukinori - Green, “the color of life,” he used to remind Suzuya.

Hajime Hazuki - white. Someone take it away from him.

Arima Squad

Ihei Hairu - hers is lemon-colored, and she’s nicknamed it “Sunlight.”

Arima Kishou - His is ordinary light blue. But he can beat even the most powerful sabers with his technique. 

Ui Koori - His is green. Sometimes Hairu tells him they’re lemons and limes, and he enjoys this.

Take Hirako - he ordered light blue to match Arima. 

Ihei Shio - Pink. He and Yusa swapped colors. 

Arima Yusa - white. He didn’t care for the color, but Shio really wanted pink.

Souza Rikai - purple, which she’s very proud of. 

Suzuya Squad

Suzuya Juuzou - green and two-sided. He insisted on green to honor Shinohara. 

Keijin Nakarai - Yellow to match his hair.

Hanbee Abara - Darksaber. He feels silly with it.

Miyuki Mikage - Green, like his boss. 

Mizurou Tamaki - Orange

Quinx Squad

Yonebayashi Saiko - light blue, and she enjoys wielding it, because then she gets to pretend she’s someone from Feudal times. 

Shirazu Ginshi - orange, cracked, and he loved it for its imperfections. 

Urie Kuki - purple, but cracked, and the crack is growing bigger.

Mutsuki Tooru - green, and he’s determined to become as skilled as Kaneki. 

Hsaio Ching-Li - dark saber. Beware her skill.

Aura Shinsanpei - his is dark blue, and he’s either way too fierce or too timid with it. There is no middle ground.

Higemaru Touma - pink, and he likes to light it up for no reason other than he enjoys the sound. 

#tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul scenarios #star wars #everything can be traced back to lightsaber duels #kaneki ken #rize kamishiro #saiko yonebayashi #shirazu ginshi #urie kuki #tooru mutsuki #ching li hsiao #aura shinsanpei #higemaru touma #mizurou tamaki #miyuki mikage #hanbee abara #keijin nakarai #suzuya juuzou #shinohara yukinori #aura kiyoko #tanakamaru mougan #kuriowa iwao #kuriowa takeomi #arima kishou #ui koori #ihei hairu #hirako take #souza rikai #arima yusa #ihei shio

[mess-with-a-purpose]

When in Doubt, Duel It Out

Word Count: 1151

Summary: Planning a wedding is stressful. Your fiancé, Ted, is trying to be uppity and supportive but the stress of finalizing the seating chart is proving to be a most heinous task. Ted runs an idea by you for the reception and you aren’t too sure how it will play out.

Warnings: none; just cute fluff!

“Hey Ted, babe, will you come in here for a sec?” I shouted from the living room, a large sheet of butcher paper flung on the coffee table as my Sharpie stained hands attempted to map out the reception seating chart. A perfectly good couch rested at my back as I had seated myself on the floor as if getting physically closer to the page would help anything. It’d been hours and the uneven circles that had been anxiously sketched just seemed to mock my indecisiveness. 

The wedding wasn’t for another few months but my anxiety brain felt this compulsion to get everything out of the way. My brain normally operated on a “procrastinate-because-it’s-too-overwhelming” mindset, every task would eventually get done but it was just the getting started part that freaked me out the most. I almost felt bad for taking the reins so quickly on the planning but it just made more sense with Bill and Ted getting ready for another Wyld Stallyns gig and designing their university. No matter how much anxiety came with actually getting something started, taking something off of Ted’s concern list was definitely a great motivator. 

“Yeah, babe!” I heard some fumbling in our bedroom and chuckled as I rolled my eyes. What did this crazy dork do this time? He poked his head from around the corner of the hallway, his dark hair always falling in his eyes. “Babe?”

“Hmm?” my eyes fell back onto the chart, the Sharpie in my mouth as I chewed absentmindedly on the cap. We couldn’t sit Bill’s dad next to Missy, that’d be too awkward. I scratched out another draft.

“Babe, I have an idea to run by you!” Ted’s shoulders came from behind the corner, his head flipping to get the hair out from his face. He had that same look in his eyes that he did for all of his concepts and ideas.

I glanced over at him, pen cap still between my teeth. “Wha’ ya go’?”

He smiled, pulling out from behind the corner with two pool noodles, each with one end covered in duct tape. He waved them around, making cheesy yet lovable lightsaber noises. I crinkled my eyebrows, a confused smile spreading across my lips.

“What do you think?” Ted gestured to his mock-ups, the red and blue foam dangling slightly. 

I took the cap out of my mouth. “Can we save a noodle-saber fight for later, babe?” I gestured to my stress raiser on the table. “I need to finalize this seating chart for the reception.”

My fingers drummed against the paper with the pen tapping in harmony. I pursed my lips attempting to place Missy in the most unproblematic spot. A second passed and the squish of foam tapped my forehead, my hand batting at the noodle. “Ted, really, please. I’m trying to figure out where to put Missy. You know? Your step-mother who happens to have it out with Bill’s dad?”

Another tap, this time under my chin. “Babe, hear me out on this one.” I glanced up at his pleading puppy eyes. Oh God, I knew that look. “Technically, you owe me after that bogus veto over our wedding date.”

I pointed the Sharpie at his chest as he took a seat next to me on the floor. For once he didn’t comment on the fact that I never seem to actually sit on the couch when I work. “Okay, fair enough but remember the logistics of that actually were bogus.”

His eyes met mine, a pool noodle rested by his feet while the other remained in his palm. “No way!” He tapped my hair. “I came up with a time schedule and everything!”

Rolling my eyes, I smiled as I recalled his initial idea to have the wedding on June 9, 1969. His reason being that our anniversary would literally be 6/9/69. “Baby, teleporting all of our guests in that small phone booth would’ve taken up most of the ceremony time! Not to mention that we would’ve run the risk of the antenna breaking and a portion of our guests getting lost in a time loop!” My fingers lovingly brushed his dark hair away from his face, my thumb brushing along his cheek before tracing over his lower lip.

His eyes glanced down, his disappointment voice small. “You gotta admit, it would’ve been most excellent!”

“Of course, babe.” I picked up my Sharpie and resumed chewing on the cap. “Now, wha’ ith yo’ i’ea?”

Ted’s smile quickly returned, the pool noodle in his hand thumping my head once again. “Okay, so remember how I proposed?” It had been during one of those noodle-saber fights but I can’t remember which one of us wielded the red foam.

“Yes, you adorable dingus,” I chuckled, resting my head on his shoulder. His puppy eyes bright as he thumped the noodle on my thighs. “What? Do you want to give everyone a pool noodle as a parting goody?” The Sharpie had covered my hands, smudging along the sides of my palms.

“No, but that would also be rad!” I watched as his hair bobbed with his head. My ink-stained fingers toyed with one of the buttons on his jacket.

I decided to play his game, getting comfortable, and shifted to tuck into his side. I swung my right leg over his thighs, his non-noodle bearing hand stroking my knee. “Okay, are you envisioning us in a duel? Luke and Vader style?”

“Well, if we got enough of these and spent some time making the most excellent duct tape handles⎼” 

I burst out laughing, hiding my face in his chest. “Babe, we are NOT going to challenge people to noodle-saber duels just because that’s how we proposed!”

Ted play pouted, dropping the other noodle-saber next to him in defeat. “Then, what’s the point?” His face looked too damn cute like this, even if it was a bluff. I giggled, bringing my face up to his for a quick kiss. He kept up the pouty act afterward.

I sighed, pressing my forehead into his neck. “How about this,” his fingers stroked my calf, his face twitching with intrigue. “I challenge you to a noodle-saber duel. Luke and Vader style.” I poked him in the chest with a noodle, his stupid smile so adorably dopey. “If you win, we make a bogus trip to the store and buy them out of pool noodles and duct tape. If I win, we figure out another reception idea.”

Ted excitedly grabbed his noodle, hopping up so quickly he almost knocked over the table. “That is a most excellent offer from a most bodacious babe!” He reached for me, helping me to my feet and giving me another kiss before I swiped at him with my noodle. “Hey!” He scurried across the living room.

A mischievous grin spread across my face. “Guess I’ll be Vader this go-around.”

#ted logan #ted logan x reader #ted theodore logan #bill and ted fanfic #writing #fluff #bill and ted #keanu reeves #bill s preston esquire #alex winter #when in doubt duel it out #lightsabers #weddings

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Re-Write

(Inspired by the fantastic work of @dalekofchaos) 

“Fix it” fics are a thing, yeah? Well, here’s my shot at writing one for the ninth Star Wars film. Contrary to popular opinions, I’m only going to change one or two things about the two movies beforehand, because I unironically loved both of them. But I can admit that there were mistakes, and TLJ tied up most of the loose ends, leaving it difficult to follow-up with a sequel. So, regarding Episodes eight and nine, here’s what changes. 

I have exactly one change for TFA. That random ass stormtrooper who called out Finn as a traitor and inexplicably had a melee weapon that could fight lightsabers? Yeah, just make that Phasma and have done with it. I don’t understand why it wasn’t her in the first place. Also, Finn being able to wield a lightsaber isn’t “evidence” that he’s force-sensitive if you ask me. The films never confirm that non-force sensitives can’t use them. This will be important later.

Moving on to TLJ...replace that stupid milk scene with the deleted scene of Luke reacting to the news of Han’s death. I mean, come on, that’s a given. Another given, Luke uses his green lightsaber in the illusionary duel against Kylo Ren. That’s just common sense. 

After Kylo Ren asserts himself and force-chokes General Hux, and the two of them depart...the camera pans in on the pieces of Snoke’s corpse, onto his face...and his eyes suddenly open. Yes, this will be important later. Somehow, Snoke survived.

I genuinely liked Vice-Admiral Holdo, but they kind of fumbled her role in the story. She was never given a reason for why she did not share her plans with the rest of the Resistance. The most popular theory being that she assumed a mole was on board, but this was never stated in the movie. In my opinion, Poe had every reason to call for mutiny based on what he knew, so the whole message/character arc of him learning to be a leader rather than a hero didn’t quite stick the landing. So how will I fix it? Simple, replace Holdo with Leia. First things first, we don’t get the superman-flying, which is just an objective improvement. We also are more inclined to trust Leia over Poe, because of the legacy the character has. We’re also going with the plot-threat there is indeed a mole. What’s more, Leia is given the sendoff she deserves with the light-speed kamikaze scene. Sure, she may be force-sensitive, but it’s clear that she chose a different path in her life and I think she should go out as a warrior, not a Jedi, because that’s what she was. General Leia. Plus, you avoid the awkward interactions with CGI Leia from the canon episode 9. 

I think we can all agree that Finn deserved better, and he absolutely deserved to have the scene that was deleted, where he called out Phasma in front of her soldiers, telling them what happened in TFA, when Phasma caved so easily. This is the beginning of the Stormtrooper rebellion, and Finn is responsible for igniting the spark. He can definitely duel with Phasma, but he’s not going to win for one simple reason. The mole suddenly reveals herself and puts a blaster to his head. 

Spoiler alert, the mole is Rose. The reason why could vary - perhaps she blames the resistance for the death of her sister. Perhaps the First Order captured her sister alive and is threatening her. Either way, Rose’s efforts help turn the tide and allow her and Phasma to escape. The code-breaker can still be part of the movie, but he doesn’t really matter. The Canto Bight sequence is unchanged, because I honestly don’t dislike it at all. 

So who saves Finn from his attempt to follow General Leia’s example, and give his life for the cause that he now truly cares about? Poe does. This moment already causes their character arcs to intersect, with Poe being in the position Leia was in at the start of Last Jedi, Finn being in Poe’s position. Poe crashes their ships to save Finn, and because I’m #Stormpilot trash, and we deserved an onscreen LGBT relationship between leads, Poe does indeed kiss Finn. However, don’t worry about Rose. I have plans for her. 

That’s about all that changes. But in the grand scene of things, most of these aren’t really issues with the film itself. But they’re necessary to set up for my idea for a Rise of Skywalker re-write. Speaking of...

The Rise of Skywalker - let’s begin with the name. 

I hate this name and everything it represents. I’ve heard rumors of an alternate script where Ben Solo is not redeemed, called “Duel of Fates.” I’m not a fan of Ben not being redeemed, but I like the concept of that film name. So I’m thinking this movie will be called something like “One Last Bout” or “One Last Stand.” Something simple but effective, with the air of finality. I truly doubt Episode 9 is the end of Star Wars forever, but if we think of it as a conclusion to the first two trilogies, this can work. 

The film opens with the funeral of General Leia. With Rey, Finn, and Poe (who are holding hands for sure) all standing together with Chewie, who is in shambles as we can expect. Lando is also present and he gets re-introduced. Luke’s force spirit appears and looks on, but does not reveal himself to everyone else. Likewise, pan the camera over, and we see Kylo Ren observing the service as well, out of sight. Luke makes telepathic contact with Rey, to warn her of danger, at which point both Rey and Ben double over in pain, the sound design giving us an uncomfortable high pitched screech, or something similar. There’s a disturbance in the Force. Something is returning. Something terrible. Ben is spotted, and the main trio open fire with blasters, but Ben escapes. Lando stops Rey from pursuing him, suggesting that it would dishonor Leia’s memory to do it right then and there. 

Ben, on his ship, struggles with horrible pain, a serious headache. Until at last, he is telepathically contacted by a voice we do not hear. But it terrifies him, and he takes off in his ship in pursuit of it. 

A scene similar to the one where the Resistance analyzes Palpatine’s message, but there is no message and there is empathically no Palpatine in this movie, though I won’t get into why that was a horrible idea right now. Never mind, Rey is simply recounting to Finn, Poe, Chewie, and Lando that there’s a disturbance in the Force. Luke’s spirit appears and warns them that a great evil that long predates their time, is returning. He disappears, explaining that he needs to await Leia as she “crosses over” and becomes one with The Force. This is the last we see of Luke in the film, because his story is over. The torch has been passed.

Ben/Kylo Ren arrives at what we saw as Exegol. I don’t mind this planet being Exegol, it was about the only new location I actually remembered from the canon film. He confronts the voice in his head, proclaiming that he will kill any threat to The First Order and it’s Supreme Leader. A familiar voice in the dark chuckles. “You have yet to finish off your predecessor. By what right do you claim his job?” Snoke leans forward, and reveals himself. A similar scene to TROS plays out but with no mention of Rey. Despite Ben’s shock, Snoke is amused. “You are not the first apprentice to try and take my life. You probably won’t be the last. I have fashioned many into tools for the Dark Side, even the Emperor himself learned at my feet. Did you think you were special? So, yes. Snoke is the final Big Bad like he should have been (Andy Serkis was robbed) and he really is Darth Plagueis because he was totally supposed to be. By means of mental torture, Snoke reassumes control of Ben and tells him to gather the Knights of Ren “Wherever you’ve hidden them” and prepare to crush the rebellion once and for all. 

Instead of visiting a random planet for a lead, Lando and Chewie lead the gang back to Endor. Or it could also be Kashyyyk, I suppose. Like before, Lando and Luke were there. They spent years documenting the history of the Jedi and the Sith. This could be contained in “Holocrons” I realize they have meaning behind them in the lore, but I don’t know much, so just consider the “Holocron” to be a storage unit for information. Arriving there, we still have the scene of a local asking for Rey’s family name, but this time she’s going to stay no one like she should have. While researching, Finn expresses the theory, or more like the hope, that he might be Force-Sensitive. Rey tells him that everyone is, to an extent, but Finn clarifies that he means it the same way that Rey is. “Y’know, the way you can push stuff around and sense people’s feelings. Make stuff float.” An echo back to Rey’s line from TLJ. What I’m going for here is that Finn is not force-sensitive in the traditional way. His arc in this movie is going to be about accepting that, and realizing that he doesn’t need that to be a “hero.” He already is one, with everything he’s done. But as of right now, his insistence that he could be leads to bickering between him and Rey.

Things only get worse as Rey uncovers more about the Jedi. Sees some of the ways in which they were not the white knights that history remembers them as. Luke was right, they played no small part in creating Darth Vader. What’s more, she discovers the “Rule of Two” which has been hinted in the films but never discussed outright. The idea that there are only ever two people wielding the Dark Side, a master and an apprentice. And that the apprentice invariably kills the master to succeed them. A tradition dating back for millennia. The Sith, the practitioners of the Dark Side, always betray each other. She’s disheartened, thinking of Ben killing Snoke and how he offered her his hand. What it all would have led to in the end. 

They finally discover what could be the answer - the “great evil” that is returning. A Sith lord called Darth Plaguis, who, when they bring up the hologram of him, strongly resembles Snoke. They put two and two together, reading more about Plagueis’ file. How he vanished without a trace. How he was said to have performed an unspeakable ritual in the Dark Side to allow him to control life and death itself. He could revive those he loved from death, and could not truly he killed, having become an anomaly in the Force. Only another anomaly of equal power would be able to stop him. 

An ambush occurs, with assassins in masks attacking the heroes. They wield melee weapons that are not lightsabers, and they force the group to split up due to simply being outnumbered. The gang realizes that, apart from being here to kill them, they probably want that Holocron, but the Resistance must be the ones to get it. We get a similar scene to the canon film, with Chewie heading to the Millennium Falcon with the Holocron and trying to take off, to blast the assassins from the sky...but then the assassins reveal their ace card. They have force power. And they start to pull the Falcon back down. Rey struggles against them, but she’s outnumbered, still upset from everything that she’s learned, and easily angered when Finn rushes in to try and help, despite not being able to. Rey succumbs to her anger and unleashes Dark-Side lightning. Just like in the canon film. The differences? Number one, this doesn’t foreshadow any lineage for her...but importantly Chewie is actually dead, not just a fake-out. He’s dead, and the Falcon and Holocron are destroyed with him. Seriously, the emotional weight of that scene is completely drained by not having Chewie actually die there. The potential is lost, and I’m going to prove it. 

Rey is appropriately mortified, shocked, and despondent.  The assassins are too - they can’t believe their enemy killed one of their own just to win. Everyone is shocked, but Poe is the quickest to regain his head, dashing in and blasting at the assassins to help cover the heroes while they escape, Finn half-dragging a stunned Rey. So, everyone feels awkward about what just happened and though they believe Rey that it was an accident, it still happened and both Finn and Poe feel distant from her. Lando, understandably, is a lot less patient than them. He knew Chewie for years. His old feelings about losing Han might resurface, and he could say something about how Rey is no better than Kylo Ren, before catching himself and apologizing. At this point, Lando also departs. He needs to get back to the Resistance, because he has been named the Acting General, since Leia’s death. 

Meanwhile, Poe deduces that the assassins were the mythical “Knights of Ren” rumored to be the Supreme Leader’s private army. Rey is shaken from her stupor at this news - it doesn’t make sense, it completely violates the “Rule of Two.” Could Ben still be saved? Or is it too late for him? Is it too late for her, Rey, even? Cue Ben Solo/Kylo Ren opening up the force-bond once again. A similar conversation about how they’re both uncertain of their place in the galaxy, and a confirmation that Snoke is back, and is really Plagueis. Ben reveals that he’s been ordered to kill Rey, and he apologies - he truly doesn’t want to do this, but Snoke once again has control of him, and has proven that killing him won’t matter. Rey senses terrible pain, and gets a taste of what Ben has been put through - think, like, the Cruciatus Curse. Whatever “pain” move Kylo Ren used on Poe in TFA. He learned it from Snoke, of course. Ben closes the force-bond, telling Rey to run. Run as far and as fast as she can, because he’s no longer able to take it easy on her.

Finn and Poe overhear the conversation, or at least Rey’s side of it. They hear enough to deduce who she’s talking to, and this further plants the seeds of doubt in their heads. As we see in Last Jedi, Rey doesn’t really tell people about the force-bond, so we can assume she never told her friends. The family is fracturing more and more. Rey is slipping closer and closer to the Dark Side. And all without needing to give her a bloodline. See? I told you Chewbacca’s death had potential. 

They make a pit stop on Coruscant, because there’s no reason it couldn’t have been Coruscant, hiding from First Order ships. Here is where the character of Zorii originally showed up. As compelling as the performance was, she’s not going to show up here. Let’s be honest, she was only there to no-homo Finn and Poe, as well as give Poe a backstory that is apparently racist? (I’m not knowledgeable enough about this topic to comment, so let’s just throw out the whole idea.) Instead, the team is confronted by none other than Rose, the mole from TLJ. She reveals that more and more stormtroopers have been rebelling since Finn gave his speech. There’s only one faction that she is confident will never turn on the First Order - the Knights of Ren, who “seem to worship the Supreme Leader like a damn god...though, I guess he isn’t the Supreme Leader anymore, is he?” News is spreading of Snoke’s return, and Rose has the heroes cornered with a band of loyalist stormtroopers. 

Finn pleads with Rose, and the other Stormtroopers, to reconsider. Here is where we outline Rose’s character. She despises everything about war. She’s intentionally attacking both sides, seeking to see both the Resistance and The First Order collapse. She has a personal vendetta against Poe and actively tries to kill him, for his role in the battle that killed her sister. Poe likewise despises Rose for having betrayed Finn. Whether Rose’s actions are tactical doesn’t really matter - she’s responding from a place of emotion, not logic. Poe, showing his growth, apologies to Rose and talks her down. Explains the situation, how dire the circumstances are. Rey chimes in and identifies with Rose, having made plenty of mistakes of her own. There’s a moment of solidarity between the team once again. A moment, anyway. Poe makes peace with Rose, and she lets the heroes go. However, her stormtroopers turn on her, and attack everyone. The gang helps Rose escape with them, and after the escape, they realize that those stormtroopers were in fact the Knights of Ren, spying for Kylo Ren, which means Snoke as well. 

Rey, tortured by nightmares about Snoke, leaves in the middle of the night. Finn is awake, and tries to stop her, which leads to a major fight. Finn is having trouble trusting Rey, and it shows. Rey is likewise fed up with Finn trying to insert himself into the story, as it were. However, having been told by Rose the impact that he had on the galaxy, Finn no longer wishes to be a Jedi. He then redirects the question to Rey - does she want to be a Jedi? Like Luke? Honest answer - she doesn’t know. The Jedi of old would never have accepted her. She’d have been expelled and become another Darth Vader. Rey is impulsive, confrontational, she has a short temper. She gives in to the Dark Side too easily, and now it’s gotten someone killed. She feels diseased. Though Finn tries to dissuade such talk, it comes out that he and Poe overheard her conversation with Kylo Ren. Both sides are angry here, because Rey kept this secret, and because her friends spied on her. She cries out in anger, causing several nearby lights to blow out. Rey storms away, seeking to be alone.

This fight scene takes the place of the ESB rip-off with an evil Rey. That just wasn’t necessary. Instead, Rey leaves to confront Snoke, kill him once and for all, and rescue Ben if she can. After that, she isn’t sure what she’ll do. It is at this point that she is captured by the Knights of Ren. However, they don’t kill her, as instructed. They remove their masks - humanizing them as just being people. They reveal that they were the Jedi who followed Ben after he left Luke. When Starkiller Base was finished, Ben told them to go and evacuate their families from their home planets, just in case. The Knights stayed away for a long time, per Ben’s orders, but returned when he bid them too. They love him, seem to look up to him, and they can tell that he loves Rey. That he’s not his own man anymore. And that his best interests don’t align with Snoke’s. They know Snoke has to die, but also realize they aren’t powerful enough to stop him. The only one they can think of who might be - is Rey. They beg for her help, and she agrees.

The movie now offers a montage of Stormtroopers abandoning Phasma and Hux, and turning themselves in to the Resistance, explaining that they want to fight for the light. Meanwhile, Finn talks to Rose and Poe, and they all agree that they can’t just leave Rey, they have to go after her. They regret not trusting her, and conclude that even if she is tempted by the Dark Side, even if she falls...she’s still their friend. They don’t believe that she’s a spy - Rose offers useful tip in this sense. Observing that Rey offers none of the “tells.” Finally, we come to Rey training with the Knights of Ren. The transformation of her staff into a lightsaber pike. And it’s gold, baby. It’s gold. (Oh, since I forgot to mention this, Anakin’s lightsaber never gets repaired. Rey has been using a blaster up to this point.)

Bring us back to Snoke, torturing Ben once again as he can sense the betrayal of the Knights. Ben doesn’t realize that they’re still loyal to him, he thinks they just abandoned him, and his spirit is broken even further. Snoke talks more about his past, and here we can get a philosophical discussion. Perhaps Snoke discovered the midichlorians during his research, and exploited them for more power. He could analyze the Force as being, not a difference between light and darkness, but a shallow body of water that only gets deeper the further you venture. Snoke boasts that he was the first to risk “drowning” himself in it’s depths. Meanwhile, Ben hallucinates seeing Han, encouraging him to get up and fight back. We can also have Leia’s voice here, if we want. Ben fights back in a scene that echoes TFA, the way Rey resisted his own control. “You are no Master, Plagueis. Not of anyone or anything. You act so powerful, but your thoughts betray you. You’re afraid you will never get it right. Your desperation grows with every failure. But Today is not the day you finally succeed.”  snaps free of Snoke’s control and when Snoke attempts to dominate him with Force Lightning, Ben goes full Prince Zuko and redirects it, Yoda style. With that, he escapes, now on his own. 

Finn, Poe, and Rose show up to fight the Knights of Ren. Assuming Rey to be their prisoner. Rey, faced with her ultimate conflict, the symbol of her uncertainty, a literal metaphor between the two sides of her being at war...her loyalty to Ben, and her loyalty to her friends...her desire to be good, but her tendency toward darkness...finally completes her character arc and solves her identity issues. She creates a barrier between both sides, knocking them all down. She explains herself, telling her friends that the Knights want to stop Snoke. That she has joined them freely, for this reason. She apologizes for how distant she’s been. Admits that while she would never support the First Order, she does care for Ben Solo, despite all he’s done. This leads to Rey making up with her friends, and making peace with the Knights, who were already kind-of friends with Rose, once upon a time. This can lead into a bigger discussion about The Force, the concepts of good and evil as a whole. While Finn and Poe contact Lando, to tell him where Snoke is hiding, Rey reaches out to Ben through the force-bond. 

Meanwhile, Ben has returned to the planet where Luke’s old school of Jedi was. He visits the smoldering remains, and unearths Luke’s green lightsaber. He struggles, still feeling that call to the light, and now that he’s alone and able to meditate, he attempts to do what Snoke did, and “drown” himself in the Force, in the hope of stopping him. He doesn’t drown. Instead, he meets a spirit who he had unconsciously blocked out a long time ago. Anakin Skywalker, portrayed by Hayden “The lines were terrible but his acting was actually pretty good” Christensen.  The call to the light that Ben had always resisted had come from Anakin. These two finally talk, and Anakin urges Ben to choose the right side. They find solidarity in understanding that they were both drawn to the Dark Side, and both felt that this meant they “had” to be evil. Anakin doesn’t dissuade Ben from the Dark Side, but advises him to do what is right for the galaxy, defeating Snoke. Ben is helpless, he doesn’t know how. But Anakin tells him that an anomaly of equal power to Snoke could be enough to kill him forever. It’s definitely worth a try. Anakin fades, promising Ben that the answer is closer than he thinks. He can sense it right now...

After Anakin fades, Rey appears. She has succeeded in contacting Ben, and they catch up. Ben learning that The Knights still care about him, and that Rey has joined them. Rey expresses that Ben was right - it’s time to leave the Jedi and the Sith behind. To start something new. They can discuss the Force in greater detail, how being Dark doesn’t always mean one is evil, but the teachings of the Jedi suggest that it is a binary system. They express affection for each other. With everyone around Rey seeing her talk to someone invisible, Rey reaches out her hand...and Ben takes it. Suddenly appearing in the ship with everyone else. 

Rey and The Knights take turns embracing him, and he exchanges awkward nods with the others. With the help of the Knights, the group comes to the conclusion that Rey and Ben are some kind of Dyad in the Force, irrevocably connected. The two that are one. Such a thing has not been seen in millennia. It’s almost like a glitch in the universe. But this anomaly could be what it takes to stop Snoke for good. 

The main team makes their way back to Exegol as we see Lando giving a speech to the Resistance, now much stronger with the added former-Stormtroopers. As much as I love Jannah, she’s just as unnecessary as Zorii. That screen time could have and should have gone to Rose as she re-establishes herself back into the squad, same as Ben. Everyone arrives at Exegol at the same time, and Resistance soldiers move to open fire on Rose and Ben, understandably so, but here come Poe and Finn to talk them down and explain the situation. No one is happy about it, particularly having Ben Solo around, but Lando, with much consternation, accepts the situation and tells the Resistance not to fire on their new allies. However, he also instructs Finn to kill Ben if he steps out of line. We can get a callback when Finn gives the “I’m watching you” look to Ben, and have a line like “Don’t be a traitor.” Or something. 

Final battle time. Another montage. Finn leading the former storm-troopers in the battle against the last of Snoke’s loyalists, led by Phasma. Together with Rose, Finn defeats them and Phasma is left on her knees. She pleads for mercy, and Rose is prepared to kill her, but Finn intervenes. They take her prisoner instead, because killing people who are already defeated and defenseless is the “Stormtrooper” way. 

Rey, Ben, and the Knights are helping out with their Melee weapons. The Knights are also using the Force, because not using it offensively was a Jedi message, and they didn’t always follow it anyway. Though he’s definitively good now, Ben is still wearing his Kylo Ren armor, and wielding the cross-guard saber. I mean, imagine if he showed up to a warzone in day clothes with a blaster, just because his previous weapons were “evil?” How stupid would that be, right? However, at one point the cross-guard saber is destroyed in the right, and left empty-handed, Ben pulls out Luke’s lightsaber, stares at it...and then ignites it to rejoin the fray.

 We likewise get a battle of wits and strategy between Poe and Hux, as Poe commands a legion to take out the forces guarding Snoke’s throne room. In the end, Poe’s armada is saved by another that Lando commands. Hux manages to fatally shoot Lando, but Poe quickly repays him in kind. While everyone crowds around Lando, Hux dies alone, symbolizing the difference between the two causes. Lando expresses pride in how far Poe has come, tells him that Leia would be proud too, and with his dying words, he addresses Poe as “General Dameron.” It’s a truly emotional moment and afterward, Poe simply turns to the loyalist stormtroopers, carrying the poise and energy of a powerful leader. He tells them to drop their weapons. To surrender now, and they won’t be harmed. It’s badass. And the loyalists do as instructed. 

The path is clear for Rey and Ben to rush in to the Throne Room and kill Snoke, with the Resistance following them as backup. Only Snoke is nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, we hear that high-pitched screech again. Rey and Ben collapse in terrible pain, hearing Snoke’s voice. His physical body no longer matters or plays by the same rules. He has essentially taken the practice of returning as a force-spirit and perverted it to become Dark. We now get Snoke’s final backstory, and the answer to why he’s able to do this. Snoke himself was part of a Dyad, centuries ago. Though exceptionally rare, Rey and Ben’s bond is not unique. However, Snoke murdered his counterpart for his own selfish reasons. A total violation of nature. This is what splintered him and turned him into the unnatural being that he is now. Rey and Ben vanish, to the alarm of Finn and Poe, as they disappear into the Force. 

The three of them - Rey, Ben, and Snoke, all appear to be in some kind of void. Snoke recounts having sensed the awakening of another Dyad (”The Force Awakens”) and that this is what prompted him to return to physical form in the first place. He reveals his final plan. Rey and Ben must now fight to the death - the winner becoming as powerful Snoke himself. He promises that the winner can rule beside him. This is probably a lie, and both of his opponents refuse. But Snoke also warns that without achieving that kind of power, they’ll be hopeless to stop him. He dual wields red lightsabers in the subsequent duel. Notice how Rey and Ben are using sabers of gold and green - the opposite of red and blue, which  have traditionally symbolized the Jedi and the Sith conflict. Snoke tells them that they have no future. They cannot become Jedi, not with the crimes they’ve committed. If they become Sith, well...he cites the “Rule of Two” insisting that Rey and Ben cannot coexist because one will inevitably slay the other. Rey and Ben respond that they are neither, that they simply fight for what they believe in. That they are...knights of Ren. 

Together, they strike back, plunging their sabers through Snoke’s chest. He vanishes, and the void world vanishes. Rey and Ben reappear in the throne room, and Snoke is there too, staggering to his feet. The Resistance takes aim at him, but he pays them no mind. He warns the two heroes that there is no telling what will happen if they choose this path, that the Galaxy needs structure when dealing with an entity as vague and infinite as The Force. Rey responds simply that “The Force is not some stranger or threat. It is not a vice for power. The Force...is us. All of us. The good and the bad, the light and the dark. So long as we stand together, you will never influence The Force again. You will never control us. You will never return again.” With a roar of defeat, Snoke’s body turns to dust, and a shadowy mass is left in it’s place. Finn and Poe fire at at it, to no avail, but Rey and Ben join hands, and as the shadowy mass surges toward them, The Dyad employs it’s full potential, causing Snoke’s bastardized force-spirit to vanish. Not sure how this would be filmed without looking silly, but I swear, it’s compelling. 

The battle is over. Everyone celebrates. When Finn and Poe kiss, it’s earned, not some nameless background characters. The team returns to the Resistance base. Poe has been unanimously voted to be the new General, which is the closest thing they have to an elected leader right now, so he is in charge of the trials for the loyalists, and the Knights of Ren. The people who committed treason or other crimes. But we only see three of these trials. Ben Solo, Rose Tico...and Rey. After all, she did kill Chewie, right? She conspired with the Knights, too. Rey is pardoned almost immediately, Rose not long after, but Ben Solo...after much consideration, Poe charges the Knights of Ren to a path of atonement. To go around, helping fix the Galaxy. Community service. 

Ben and the Knights prepare to leave on their trip, and Rey and Ben say goodbye. How ship-teasy this is, if there’s a final kiss...eh, interpret how you like. I’m a Reylo fan personally, but I know a lot of people aren’t. Ben promises to see Rey again, and they both acknowledge that thanks to the Dyad, they won’t have to go without seeing each other, not really. Likewise, Rey and Finn and Poe and Rose will be helping to fix up the galaxy, so it’s certainly not goodbye. 

I lied, Luke’s force-spirit appears one more time, this time with Leia, though she doesn’t speak much for obvious reasons. Luke is proud of her, and says something to the effect of “Not bad for a scavenger girl with no family from Jakku of all places. Well done, Rey from nowhere.” Rey looks around at everyone - at Finn, Poe, Rose. At Ben and the Knights. At C3PO, R2D2 and BB8 (Who were definitely involved the whole time I just didn’t have much to say about them) she looks back at Luke and replies that she does have a family. She and her friends go to wave goodbye as Ben’s ship takes off, flying into the sunset, and....ENDING CREDITS!

Let me know what y’all think! Hopefully this doesn’t throw out quite as much from Last Jedi, and does the characters justice! 

#Star Wars #Rey from Nowhere #Finn Star Wars #Poe Dameron #Kylo Ren #Ben Solo #Rose Tico #Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker #Star Wars TROS #Reylo #Stormpilot #Supreme Leader Snoke #Snoke #Lando Calrissian #Chewbacca #Star Wars: The Last Jedi #Luke Skywalker #Leia Organa #The Knights of Ren

[capricornus-rex]

Hey isk if you are taking requests right now, but I’ll shoot my shot anyway : Can I request an imagine with Cal Kestis where the reader is also a Jedi who’s feeling down/sad (for whatever reason you feel like) and Cal feels it through the force and helps her feel better?? Loads of fluff and kisses if possible, thank you I really love your writing🥺🥺💖

Hi there! Yeah, I’m taking requests right now ^-^ that’s an interesting prompt you got there. Coincidentally, I was starting a fic that seem to have blended well with your request ;) I hope you enjoy this fic, hun! And thank you, you’re very kind 🥺🥺💖

“Bad Dreams Don’t Come True”

Cal Kestis x Reader

Masterlist

The chirping of the crickets hidden amongst the tall grass, the whispers of the Saava within the tree roots and niches, the snoring of the Slyyygs in their damp dens—Kashyyyk is asleep. The water trickling from the rocks and trees was enough of a lullaby to drift the partisans to sleep. However, even in the midst of peace, there is a storm brewing within.

You lie awake in bed, keeping the tossing and the turning to a minimum. Cal’s breathing kept a slow rhythm. You study his face illuminated by what little light there is in the ship’s quarters; you trace the freckles that riddled his cheeks and your eyes follow the scar on his nose bridge that had already blended into his skin. Slight flits of his eyelids and the little twitches the corner of his mouth made you wonder what he might be dreaming about.

You leave bed and head on to the galley for a cup of water. Contemplating on what to do with the insomnia. After one last chug of the water, you immediately went back to bed and mentally coaxed yourself to sleep.

The next morning, Cal woke up to finding your side of the bed empty. He gets up and walks to the galley.

“Good morning, Cal,” Cere greeted while pouring tea. “Have some breakfast first.”

“And [y/n]?”

Cere shot him a clueless look, “She went out early, said she needed to do something.”

“Did she now? Where?”

“Last I saw her she was just here at the landing pad.”

Cal stepped out of the Mantis but does not see you. He finds your handiwork at the west corner of the hangar instead—tools and datapads scattered on the floor. It’s a mess.

Shortly after, you arrive back to your spot in the hangar and find Cal crouched to the floor peering over your work.

“Good morning,” you simply said.

“Hey, good morning. You’re up early,”

“Yeah, fancied fixing this speeder bike I hijacked from a scout. Nothing I can’t fix though,”

He watched you tinker away with the speeder’s chassis on the table. You were so absorbed with it, but he stayed there—watching you and sometimes handing over the tools you needed but was within his reach. He knew that you were just trying to distract yourself.

“You were tossing and turning last night,” Cal finally starts the conversation.

“Sorry, I tried to be careful. I didn’t mean to wake you,”

“Bad dream?”

“It’s nothing I can’t sleep off,”

Cal nodded, he knows that he’s not going to get to you that easily. Yet he can see how upset you are, even when you’re denying it until the lie you tell yourself becomes truth. Whatever question he throws, you either segue to a different topic or just don’t answer at all.

He gave up for now. He didn’t want to upset you further and left you to your business. There were times that he still wanted his presence known such as lending you more of his tools and parts, handing you some lunch when you forgot to eat.

He may not see the whole picture of the thoughts in your mind, but he can sense your feelings—they were strong, loud, and dark. The latter worried him. There was a swirling darkness about it that he wanted to know more about, he bit his tongue, thinking that he didn’t want to further upset you by pressing into the matter.

Later that night, Cal begged you to stop for tonight. Clearly, the speeder bike needed a lot of work considering the wear and tear it had gotten over time. The chassis you worked on was a bust and you had to figure out what else it needed to get it running again.

“Come on,” Cal coaxed. “Don’t make me carry you against your will.”

“Oh I bet you’d love that,” you teased as you unzipped your jumpsuit’s top and tied the sleeves around your waist.

You got your consequence. Cal reeled you in by the waist, riddled your ticklish neck with kisses before scooping you up in his arms and marching to the Mantis. Lying down together, neither of you spoke whilst cuddling; he just glided his fingertips over your smooth skin—he reached for your thighs, traced to your arms, and then your collarbone. Ironically, his battle-scarred hands had a certain softness that relaxed you. He planted a kiss on your bare shoulder, then his lips wandered to your neck, and then a long, final one on the cheek before drifting to sleep.

You were almost too afraid to doze off. Because there will be no control from you by the time the nightmares set in—but you were exhausted.

Your eyes shot up, you gasped and woke in a cold sweat. You could have sworn you only closed your eyes for a few seconds, but it somehow felt like hours since. Massaging the bridge of your nose, you wonder if you were awake or dreaming because it still feels like real life although a little different. You find Cal missing in bed, you hear a clattering noise coming from the galley. The anxiety faded.

Oh thank God, he must be having a glass of water. You thought.

You stand up from bed and call to him again. Not a single response, not a grunt or whatever. Nonetheless, you head to the galley—only to find it empty. Your eyebrows pulled in confusion and looked around—it clearly wasn’t your little stowaway, otherwise it would have been caught red-handed. Something wasn’t right. You immediately untied and wore your jumpsuit on and then headed out of the ship.

“Cal?”

The hangar was empty, so is the hallway that led to the elevator between the hangar and forest trench. More noise came from the narrow annex on the right, you continued to follow it in the hope that it would be Cal—it was empty again, yet something in it drew you to jump down from the platform.

Something came from behind, you sensed the danger the split second your boots touched the soil below. You turned around with lightsaber already ignited and found an opening that had never been there before. A menacing figure emerged from the pitch black mouth of the cave. Whatever it was, it didn’t idle in the darkness for too long, it was eager to face you. Here comes the one you have been looking for—but not exactly in the way you wanted to.

It was Cal. His face had been distorted. The lining of his eyes were swollen red, bags were under them too, and the skin of his face had become sallow; but there was a frightening tenacity in the way he appeared before you. You sucked in air and held your arms up.

“Cal? Is it…? No…”

The only reaction that came from him was a low, throaty growl as his face wrinkled with anger—one that seems to be directed only to you.

He wielded a red lightsaber, there was rage and hate in his eyes that you couldn’t comprehend; at the same time, there was something in you that you couldn’t stop—let alone control—you dueled with this impersonator. In a second’s notice, you immediately thrusted your saber into his heart and realized it too little too late.

The look on his face was wrought with pain. He kept his mouth agape while he choked to breathe. Blood trickled from his eyes as he croaked, struggling to either speak or catch air. Every second that he tried, more blood dripped until it filled out the whites in his eyes. You retracted the saber out of him and the body fell limp at your feet—dead open eyes crying out blood as they stared back at you. The sight was utterly terrorizing. You wanted to blink, close your eyes, or avert from it but you just can’t—you’re stuck to staring at what you just did.

“Good…” a raspy, ancient voice chanted.

You spun around, searching for the source; desperate to find it, the moving has finally made you dizzy and caused you to lose your footing.

The voice easily shifts its tone. At first, it sounded somewhat benevolent, but even so it sent chills down your spine from end to end. Although it eventually turns into a croaking snarl, adding up to the fear of its invisible yet all-seeing presence looming about. Something about that voice was oddly familiar.

“He was weak, you knew from the start,”

NO! You fought.

“Your anger rewards you with great power. The Dark side of the Force favors you,” the voice snarled, emphasizing its latter words.

I SAID…

“NO!” You jolt up, found yourself in a cold sweat gasping for air with the fullness of your lungs.

You immediately jumped out of bed and walked out of the quarters, Cal felt the shuffling of the sheets and felt you leaving bed. He blinked his eyes open, saw you leave, and heard the ship door open. He got up too—he didn’t bother suiting up the top part of his jumpsuit—he simply followed you out.

He finds you sitting alone at the edge of the landing pad where he blew up an entire tank with the AT-AT he hijacked. He sat beside you and just relished the silence for a few moments.

“Nightmare?”

“Yes,”

“If it helps, you can talk to me about it,” he persisted to find your gaze as you avoided it, he shyly reached for your hand, and he fiddled with your fingers.

Oh, you sweet, clueless boy. You thought as you looked Cal in the eye while he pursed his lips in, but you couldn’t look at him for long. You look away, contemplating whether you have the strength to put the words and thought together and then say it in front of his face.

He gently cradles your cheek and turns your face to him. He brushes the hair to your ear and cups your cheeks, keeping you locked to his gaze.

“Hey, it’s okay, you can tell me,”

It didn’t take long before you decided to narrate everything from the start to the end. No detail was spared until you started to hesitate when that certain part is almost there. You sucked in air, closed your eyes, and prepared yourself for whatever reaction or comment he’ll have for you.

“Your eyes were yellow. We fought. I killed you…” you choked but attempted to finish, “And then you started crying out blood while you died in front of me—by my hand.”

The concluding part was hearing the voice that was trying to reach into you, by using the Dark side.

“Has it been getting to you often lately?”

“It’s been two days and a half now—if you count today,”

Cal’s face was blank, but the slight twitches in his lips were evident; he could only wonder what the actual picture looked like and concluded that he doesn’t want to know. That dream just burned an awful picture of Cal in your mind. He noticed your erratic fidgeting: your cracked nails were ripping out the cuticles and when that started to hurt, your knuckles were white as bone when you close your hand into a fist.

He saw the way you looked down on your mutilation with great disdain, the moonlight reflected on the tears that glazed your eyes until one teardrop fell. His finger wiped away the stain that the tear left and wrapped his arm around you, pulled you closer for an embrace, and his one hand was enough to hold both of your hands to stop you from hurting yourself.

“It’s alright now, [y/n], don’t worry,” he cooed.

You wrap your small arm around him, embracing him back. He brought your hand to his lips and kissed your fingers—wounded or not—and then planted more kisses on the palm of your hand. Later on, his attention trailed to your lips. He brushes the back of his fingers smoothly against your cheek, and then tenderly locked his lips onto yours and he rakes your hair in the sweet spots. Both of you withdrew but he followed up with a kiss on the forehead before propping his chin on your head. His other hand stroked your hair while you rested your head on his shoulder.

“I know you’ll never hurt me, [y/n], you’ve nothing to fear,” he hummed in your ear as he scooped your legs and rested them over his thighs, while he cuddled you warm and tight under the moonlight.

#cal kestis #cal kestis fic #cal kestis x reader #cal kestis x reader fic #star wars #sw #star wars fic #sw fic #star wars oneshot #oneshot #fic #fluff #fluff fic #star wars jedi fallen order #star wars jedi fallen order fic #star wars jedi fallen order oneshot #jedi fallen order #jedi fallen order fic #jedi fallen order oneshot #sw jfo #sw jfo fic #sw jfo oneshot #jfo #jfo fic #jfo oneshot #ask prompt #ask request #writing prompt #requested by #prompt

[peter-laufeyson]

it’s time to let go

summary: ben and reader have made a new life for themselves after defeating palpatine. they only wanted to get away from the force and the dark side. little do they know, someone has different plans...

pairing: ben solo x reader

word count: 3.4k+

warnings: none

author’s note: i had a dream about this so i had to make it into a fic! ben solo will always have my heart

BEN AND [Y/N] left after the defeat of Palpatine. Their bodies suffered from exhaustion. 

Although, [Y/N] cared not about returning to the Resistance. Instead the two decided that if they should desperately need help, they would return and leave once more. They didn't want to fight more than what they had to. 

The Resistance just lost it's best fighter, not to death but to love.

Months ago [Y/N] and Ben Solo had left to start their own story.

To claim the throne, they returned to the New Alderaan and Ben Solo proved that his mother was the Princess. 

His rightful title was Prince of Alderaan. Although the people had yet to settle on a King they saw fit for the throne. When Ben came, he became the favorite and the people voted for him as King.

With all happy endings, there was a catch. 

The people of the New Alderaan, only voted for Ben Solo because they did not know he was Kylo Ren.

And so [Y/N] and Ben would live with the biggest secret, or even a lie, for the rest of their lives. 

Her legs were completely numb. [Y/N] laid on her bed next to Ben. He was exhausted too. Surprisingly, the King was gentle and aggressive when he needed to be. After some heated moments last night, Ben Solo got carried away and destroyed [Y/N]'s insides.

Her hand reached up to touch her neck.

How the hell? You thought.

Ben Solo turned to lay his arm around her. She put her hand on top of his as she turned her head to look at the sun that looks like it was about to set.

[Y/N] shot up quickly realizing how long they had slept for.

"Ben!" You shouted. He groaned in frustration.

"Damn it your Majesty, the sun is already going down!" you looked at him slightly shaking him awake. You wondered why the maid never came in to attempt to wake you both.

"I don't want to wake up, yet." He said softly as he opened his eyes and lightly pulled your hair back.

"Its so late..." You urged pulling the sheets closer to your body, "We have work to do."

"I dismissed all addresses for today. I knew I was going to be tired, and I knew you were going to be too weak the next morning."

It was true.

Slowly you got up, quick to grab a robe. You watched him as he just laid on the bed. 

You were so happy, everything you sought for your entire life was right in front of you. His wavy soft hair was scattered in his face and his chest was so smooth and strong. 

[Y/N] turned to her dressers that held her collection of crowns and gowns. She loved the dress up, but she also loved being superior.

She sat next to Ben, and moved his hair. "Let's at least got for a walk somewhere," You suggested. 

"Your legs work?" He smiled as you shoved him, laughing and how confident he was.

You playfully rolled your eyes, "They will return to normal."

"I'll remember to be more aggressive next time," He looked at you and your heart dropped. 

Can he even do that? You thought.

You left his side and looked at all the dresses you had. By title, you always had to be elegant and show your authority by wearing a crown. Unless training, you didn't have to wear such things. 

Although, for Ben he had one crown of pure gold. Your tiaras were never, by law, allowed to be bigger in size than his. For this showed that he was King and had the most authority. 

[Y/N] picked a beautiful gown that was of satan and diamonds. It bore no straps and dropped to your feet with a minimal amount of volume. You walked to Ben so he could zip the back of your dress. He slowly traced his fingers on your back as you shivered slightly. He then zipped the dress and you turned to look into his eyes.

"You better hurry, I don't want to wait for you." You said demandingly and kissed his cheek.

Although, what ever happened to being powerful force users? The couple decided to never use the force. But their lightsabers would always be carried with them at all times without the knowledge of others. [Y/N] and Ben didn't want their citizens to know such a thing about them. 

Ben wore simple but jaw dropping clothes. As King, he never wore his crown. He only ever wore it for special occasions, as did you. Except, for daily use, you wore small minimal crowns. 

As you wrapped your coat around yourself you placed the small crown on your head. You turned to him and asked if he was ready and he nodded.

"Inform the guards we will be back late." Ben told his secretary.

The palace gates opened and you told your personal pilot where you wanted to go. After sometime, you finally landed and left the ship. 

"[Y/N], where are we?" Ben asked looking around, not exactly feeling good about the area.

She walked quickly leaving Ben to just stare at her in confusion. [Y/N] looked around, and pulled off her coat exposing her beautiful dress. 

Ben noticed the tight grip on her lightsaber. This was something he's never seen [Y/N] do. It was unnatural for her to do such a thing.

"I had a vision of this place," You slowly turned to look at him, "It's calling me to this place."

"Do you even know what this place is?" Ben was starting to sound frustrated with the situation. [Y/N] shook her head slowly.

"This looks like the remains of Coruscant." He added. Ben wasn't wrong. It was dark, hot, and the air was thick. Even the lake that split the two sides of the ground was steaming slightly from heat.

Although, a presence was felt. They both ignited their lightsabers and turned their heads to see if they see anyone. 

[Y/N] looked back and saw a man with a double sided lightsaber appear between the open space of [Y/N] and Ben. Another woman with the same lightsaber appeared on the other side of the lake. 

[Y/N] twirled the lightsaber in her hand and yelled, running towards the man between them. Quickly, she was pulled back by the woman on the other side of the lake. Her body went straight to the hot water and the woman used a black fogged glass to cover the entire lake so [Y/N] could not escape.

Ben was beyond his emotions. He went straight for the man. Their lightsaber clashed and they had a small fight before Ben got pushed back by the force.

[Y/N] was pounding hard on the glass trying to break it, but nothing would budge. The water was burning her skin and the dress she wore was weighing her down. It also didn't help that the lake was very dark so she couldn't see anything outside or even the bottom of the lake.

"I'm going to give you two options..." The man spoke, "Both of you come with us or you can decline and we drown her Majesty the Queen. Either way, Kylo Ren is coming with us."

Ben frowned, he had no choice. He could hear [Y/N]'s pounding on the glass fade by the seconds. She was screaming and he felt it.

The man continued to speak, "I suggest you take my offer. Her Majesty the Queen is wanted for her precious power."

Suddenly, [Y/N]'s pounding stopped. Her body was sinking to the bottom of the lake.

"We'll do it. Just bring her back!" Ben yelled in defeat. 

The man turned to the woman as she lifted the glass and pulled up [Y/N] using the force and laid her on the floor. 

Ben ran to [Y/N] but her body was too hot for him to touch. Her small crown was gone and the dress she wore was ripped on the bottom to create less weight for [Y/N]. The man and woman stood together and the man lifted his arm up and slammed his fist on the floor transporting them to a sacred place. 

[Y/N] felt someone massaging her back as she laid on a bed. The room was white and the light didn't help as she tried to clear her vision.

"It’s time to wake up," A voice kept saying.

Your head was rested on your arm, your body was so weak, but relaxed. Slowly you opened your eyes and saw that you laid in a small room. 

The person massaging your back left. You quickly sat up realizing you had a small white skirt and a white wrap around your chest. This wasn't very appropriate.

You winced and grabbed your stomach as you felt a strong pain. The pain was, unusual... unfamiliar.

You looked behind you and found a desk with the dress you were wearing and your royal blue coat. You grabbed the coat to cover yourself more and left the small room.

Where's Ben? You thought. 

As you walked down the halls, every other person looked at you. You saw a fair amount of others your age. 

"Are you [Y/N]?" A woman asked with a tone. Her eyes were slightly red. You could feel the anger radiating off of her.

"Yes..." you replied.

She started walking and you followed behind her. Passing different rooms, you saw everything from dueling, arguing, killing, and a room full of kyber crystals. 

When you reached a door, the woman looked at you and you frowned slightly at her. She opened the door and there was massive explosions everywhere. 

You slowly walked inside and noticed the ceilings are very high and there were cannons pointing down causing the explosions. There were almost two dozens of people training and dueling. On a rock stood an old man whose clothes were of black.

You wondered why would they dressed you in white? Everyone wore dark colored clothes.

Within the mix of students you saw Ben. He stood out because of his lightsaber. Although his lightsaber was red, it wasn't like the other's. Many of them had a double ended or a single ended lightsabers. It was strange, he was so into the fighting. You almost saw it as how he used to fight when he was with the First Order.

"Ben?" You called out to him. He turned to look at you. Other students stopped and glared at you.

"Come here my child," The old man demanded.

You refused to move, you were so full of anger. The woman escorting you had pushed you and harshly grabbed your arm while taking you to him. 

Ben watched and the students surrounded the scene. The woman shoved you on your knee in front of the old man. Ben took a step forward causing the students to ignite their lightsabers in front of him, reassuring him that he should stay put.

"Why have you come here?" He croaked.

You quickly stood up and used the force to grab a student's saber and ignited it following a harsh strike into the woman who escorted you. 

Everyone watched as the body dropped to the floor with a big thump. 

"You forced us here..." You glared.

"Dear child-" The man began speaking before you interupted him.

"I'm not your child!" You yelled back in anger raising the saber to him.

"You had the vision, you came to me." The old man smirked.

You grabbed his neck and put the blade so close to him that it was slightly burning his skin. He seemed so calm, it only angered you more. You tightened the grip on his neck.

"What do you want from me?" You asked in a demanding way.

He smirked, "For you to turn to the dark side."

"I'll never turn, you fool." You growled.

He shoved you off and it caused you to stumble back. 

"Look at yourself!" He roared. "You've already killed and your feelings betray you!"

"My feelings are clear!" you yelled back.

He laughed. This old man made you look weak.

"Ben Solo and I are leaving," You stated.

"No you won't.” The man simply said.

"And why's that?" You glared.

"This place calls to you," His eyes burned more into your soul, "It’s offering something you need."

You no longer had words. It was true, this place appeared in your dreams.

"I don't even know what this place is...” You spoke.

"No? Jedi were trained by a master at the Jedi Temple. Sith are trained by a master at the Sith Temple." 

You couldn't believe it.

"So you expect us to stay here and train to become a sith?" You looked at Ben then back and the old man.

"You will stay willingly, and you will do everything I ask of you." His words were of demand. 

You stepped closer to him, "I would never stay here willingly."

"Do you know why your body was so exhausted when you woke up?" He asked. You frowned thinking why would he ask such a thing.

"Because your idiotic students drowned me in a heated lake!" You snapped back.

"But that doesn't explain the pain you felt in your stomach..." He added.

Your frowned and your heart dropped. Ben felt the confusion and emotions inside you. They were unstable.

"The dark side is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural."

"No... impossible!" You yelled in anger.

"Search your feelings you know it is true." He paused, "Bring it."

Your breathing was too fast and your head felt like it was burning. Ben rushed to you and held you, he had no idea what was about to happen.

Soon, someone walked in with a basket. When they showed you what it was you cried in agony. They stole your child from you.

"How did you do this!" Ben yelled.

"It was simple. She was already pregnant. All we had to do was speed up the process and make her have the baby when she was unconscious." The old man spoke.

You cried on your knees. How could they? You didn't even know you were with child.

"If you even try to leave, this child will die." He smirked. "We start tomorrow."

With that, everyone left and the only thing that remained was the sadness of your heart and Ben Solo.

"I didn't even know Ben!" You cried. He was just as heartbroken, enraged also.

He held you in his arms as you sat on the floor weeping. Ben held onto you as he processed everything that just happened.

After a moment, you stopped crying and realized what needed to be done.

"I will kill that man. If darkness is what he wants, then darkness he shall have." You looked at Ben. He felt the anger inside you, it stung him. 

"We can't give into the dark, [Y/N]..." Ben said holding your hand.

"I won't join the dark side, I'm just going to use its power." You said sternly.

"How?" Ben questioned.

The next morning you awoke. The surroundings felt the same. Except, next to your coat were dark grey clothes with a single sided lightsaber. You quickly prepared yourself. Before leaving, you glanced at the saber.

A moment later, you walked in the halls and saw Ben. He felt your presence and turned to face you. 

So beautiful, you thought.

You grabbed his arm and walked with him to the same room you were in yesterday.

When you arrived, you were split up on opposite sides of the room. 

"Let the training begin" the old man said.

Each side fought each other. The dueling was intense, nothing like what you used to do. Although, you were still some what able to keep up.

You then found yourself and Ben alone. The fight was now between you two.

"I will not fight him!" You demand.

"Then we shall test your limits." He said and a huge rock was lifted and thrown towards your way.

Quickly, you used the force to keep it up but it was too hard. Ben was about to help when the students used the force to freeze Ben. This was your fight.

"The Light is too weak!" The man yelled, "Use your feelings!"

You started to grunt, he was using more force to push it closer to you.

"Use the dark side of the force! Use your anger!" He roared.

You yelled and felt your feelings take control. 

The rock started to crack and it was shaking. You let out a loud grunt and the rock obliterated into very small pieces.

Everyone watched in shock. You were panting uncontrollably.

The students released Ben and he quickly rushed to your side.

"Good..." He croaked, "Good."

He motioned for a student to come to him and he whispered something in their hear.

"You have surprised me [Y/N]," The man spoke aloud with a smile on his face.

You looked up and finally gained back some air. 

"You may be ready sooner than expected." He smiled as he walked out.

"Ready for what?” You questioned.

"To be our next Sith Lord." He answered as the other students followed him.

The lightsaber ignited and its red color lit up the young boy’s face. He stared at it in awe as he admired the beauty of the deadly weapon.

"How did you get your hands on this?!" Ben demanded, stealing the lightsaber away from his son.

"I found it.” The child spoke. “Maybe it was-"

"It was something I found one day." Ben cut him off. Ben stared at the disignighted lightsaber. A tear fell down his cheek as he thought about you and how things were before everything happened. The young child stared at his father intently before Ben wiped the tear away and looked back at his son. “You need to rest now.”

Ben Solo and his son left to their beds and quickly fell asleep. It was dark.

Kylo Ren...

Ben woke up quickly.

Kylo Ren...

He went to see if his son was still asleep. Ben watched for a moment to see that his son was peacefully sleeping.

His Majesty, Ben Solo.

Ben frowned and walked outside, careful not to wake up his son.

"Good, you’re awake..." A feminine voice spoke.

Ben flinched and turned to face a woman in dark red clothes.

“[Y/N]?!” Ben’s voice cracked. "You’re still alive..." 

"Of course I am Ben." [Y/N] walked to him and hugged him tightly.

"Why have you come?" Ben pulled away slowly. He looked behind you to see the ship you came in. He looked back at you to see your desperate eyes.

"To see my son. You took him from me. I was being trained and you left me there..." You furrowed your eyebrows as you recounted the painful memories.

"You didn't want me!" Ben yelled back.

"I got a feeling that it's time to let go..." You said softly, reaching for his hand.

He quickly took a step back.

"I've come because I want us to start over," You said again, trying to buy him over.

Behind Ben you heard the door open. A small boy appeared and your eyes grew watery. All the years and things you missed came back to you.

The young boy quickly ran to hide behind Ben. 

"Is that mom?" He asked quietly and Ben slowly nodded.

You couldn't stop staring at him. He must've been eight years old by now.

"Please come with me..." You begged.

"Why? You’re far too dangerous, and-" Ben paused, "I don't trust you."

Your heart broke. This was all you had left. After they beat you and trained you endlessly to be the next rising Sith, you had nothing else.

"Please," You started to cry, "I love you."

Ben looked at you with empty eyes.

You knew what you had to do.

Using the force you set them unconscious and laid them both gently on the floor. You connected all three minds together to share past memories and erase everything that happened with the Sith. 

All Ben will remember, is the past life you shared and the moment of a pregnancy, that never truly happened, and a heart felt love story. All their son will remember, is growing up with two parents and the moments they shared.

You cried once more before wiping your tears and awakening them once more.

"[Y/N], why are we here?" Ben questioned as he looked around at the foreign environment.

You smiled and said, "I'm not sure, let's go home." You kissed Ben and held out your hand for your son to grab.

"Mommy, when we get to the palace will you lay down with me again," the young boy asked with such a soft loving tone.

"Of course my baby," You smiled and picked him up. He laid his head down on your shoulder as Ben blindly boarded the ship with you. You smiled at them both as you began to navigate the ship away from New Alderaan.

Perhaps the biggest lie was a happily ever after.

#ben solo fanfic #ben solo fanfiction #ben solo imagine #ben solo #ben solo one shot #ben solo x reader #star wars #alderaan #star wars fanfiction #star wars fanfic #star wars one shot #kylo ren #first order #the dark side #star wars imagine #king!ben solo #mediveal

[politicalmamaduck]

The Last Shot

A Smuggler Ben Solo/Dark Side Rey arranged marriage fic for @the-reylo-void. Many thanks to @rapturousaurora for betaing, @cosetteskywalker for the above moodboards, and @aionimica for her drawing of Rey in her wedding dress!

Read it on AO3 here, and listen to the playlist here!

Author’s note: I am planning to wrap this piece up before The Rise of Skywalker, over two and a half years after I started writing it!

Chapter Twenty Eight: You’re Not Alone | Chapter Twenty Seven: Balance | Chapter Twenty Six: Light to Meet | Chapter Twenty Five: Darkness Rising | Chapter Twenty Four: The Betrayal | Chapter Twenty Three: Stay | Chapter Twenty Two: The Storm | Chapter Twenty One: The Fulcrum | Chapter Twenty: In Darkness | Chapter Nineteen: Rey’s Dream | Chapter Eighteen: Jakku | Chapter Seventeen: The First Flashback | Chapter Sixteen: The Rendezvous | Chapter Fifteen: Tatooine | Chapter Fourteen: The First Mission | Chapter Thirteen: Goodbye to Naboo | Chapter Twelve: The Wedding Night | Chapter Eleven: The Aftermath | Chapter Ten: The Wedding | Chapter Nine: Naboo | Chapter Eight: The Time in Between | Chapter Seven: The Negotiations | Chapter Six: The Duel | Chapter Five: The Discovery | Chapter Four: The Bargain | Chapter Three: The Bounty | Chapter Two: The Meeting | Chapter One: The Treaty

The crash of transparisteel shattering and flying everywhere brought Doctor Kalonia and a score of medical droids and other personnel running to Ben Solo’s room. The resulting chaos only served to set Ben and Rey more on edge, both visibly tense. While the droids hurried to clean up the mess and bring new medicines and equipment, Doctor Kalonia tended to her patient and tried to ignore the menacing Master of the Knights of Ren. 

Ben could hardly hear the doctor’s questions.

“No, I’m alright,” he mumbled, closing his eyes and bringing the crook of his arm up to rest over them as reinforcement. His heart was pounding in his ears and his vision blurred again. He took a deep breath, and tried to center himself in the Force, ignoring his wife’s roiling emotions.

Rey had betrayed him after all. She obviously regretted the gesture, having gone after him on Tatooine and staying with him here, but she had made the choice nonetheless. She had made good on her original threat from all those months before, when they first met. He had forgotten about her threat until now, had never dreamed it would have been Rey who called in the bounty on his head. 

His family had a lot of enemies. He had a lot of enemies. He thought his wife wasn’t one of them any longer.

They had been through so much together in their short marriage. He thought they were a solid team, one which could take down Snoke and restore balance to the Force. He admitted to himself that he hadn’t considered what would happen after they brought down the Supreme Leader. Rey would have no reason to stay in their marriage after that; the treaty would certainly be considered invalid. Hux would certainly try to consolidate power and retain control of the First Order. The threat would not be over for a long time. He would need Rey’s help to prevent another galactic civil war. 

But how could he trust her now? She obviously didn’t trust him. She hadn’t told him about the First Order’s failure to adhere to the disarmament terms in their marriage treaty. But then again, he hadn’t told her the Resistance had also kept the status quo and failed to disarm. She could see the proof of that now. 

If they were to work together, truly, there could be no more secrets. No more lies by omission. 

It was a lie by omission that had nearly cost Ben Solo his soul when he discovered the truth about his family. The entire HoloNet spared no thought for Leia Organa’s son, cared nothing for the fact that she was raised by Queen Breha and Viceroy Bail Organa, that they were his grandparents in everything but blood. It could have been him draped in a black cape like his grandfather before him and his wife now, using the name and title Ren in Rey’s place, a red lightsaber glowing at his side. 

But he hadn’t let it destroy him. He hadn’t let Snoke destroy him. And he wouldn’t let this destroy the marriage and life he wanted to build. 

He thought back to all those months before, when the treaty was proposed, when his mother asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this, told him that he didn’t need to sacrifice his own happiness for the Resistance and the New Republic. 

“If I go to her, Rey Palpatine will turn,” he had said. He believed it then. He needed to believe it now. 

He pulled himself out of his memories. He would go to her, again. 

“Doctor, could you leave us?” he finally found himself asking. 

The doctor sighed, but he was certain she was unsurprised. “You need to rest,” she said, looking him in the eyes when he finally opened them. “Nothing strenuous,” she said, eyeing Rey carefully. With that, she rose from Ben’s bedside and carefully closed the door behind her. 

The room was quiet and clean, the droids having swept away any trace of the aftermath of Ben’s Force outburst. 

Ben looked at Rey, who had an inscrutable look on her face. 

“Ben, I--” she started, but he shook his head. 

“I don’t want to hear it,” he said, trying to be gentle with the harsh words. “If we’re to trust each other, and move on from this together, there can be no more lies, no more secrets. Do you agree?”

“Yes,” she replied, softly, but firmly. 

“And obviously our superior officers need to also tell us the full truth. Do you agree with that, as well?”

“Hux is not my superior officer,” she said, making a face. “I want nothing more to do with him. Or Snoke, or the First Order, for that matter. I just want freedom for me and my Knights. I don’t want to be part of your mother’s Resistance, either.”

Ben nodded. “You’ve been thinking about this.” 

Rey nodded in turn. “I’m ready to be my own master, make my own decisions. I didn’t choose to marry you, but you’ve presented me with more choices in life than I’ve ever had.”

Ben knew how that felt, to be pressured to please everyone else, to not have a choice in where he went and from whom he learned. 

“You’re not alone,” he said, his eyes moist and his soul bare. 

“Neither are you,” she replied. She walked over to him, and held out her hand to touch his. The Force flowed through them, uniting them as one, truly and fully. He could feel her, in his mind, his heart, and his soul. He would not repeat the mistakes of the past. He was not his uncle, his mother, his grandfather, just as Rey was not her parents, her grandfather, her master. 

They sat, silently holding hands, until Ben fell asleep. He awoke when his mother entered the room to find Rey had somehow clambered into his small medical bed and found her way into his arms.

#reylo #rffa writers #reylo fanfiction anthology #rffa finish your fics #rffa birthday gifts #fan fiction #my writing #smuggler ben solo #dark side rey #arranged marriage au #this thing of darkness i acknowledge mine

[threadsketchier]

Glimpses - a time to mourn

Because of my delay the other week, I wound up unintentionally timing the final installment of this series for Memorial Day.  I think it’s pretty fitting, considering the subject matter.  But don’t worry, there’s still some positivity at the end.

@kaelinaloveslomaris @culturevulture73 @littlesparklight @azalea-scroggs @onwardintolight @klcthebookworm @celinamarniss - the usual suspects

Read it at AO3 instead

With the Empire’s head severed and its limbs in disarray, many turning against each other in the ensuing power vacuum, the Rebel Alliance – now the Alliance of Free Planets – was also experiencing a turmoil of disagreements, as conscience and principle wrestled with pragmatism.  The Battle of Endor had been costly on the fleet, and securing new allies and their supplies, as well as taking advantage of the Empire’s weakening influence, became the greater priorities over liberating oppressed worlds.  Patience was required, it was said, for gaining a foothold in the Core and taking strides toward legitimizing the Alliance into a true government would go much further in relieving the galaxy of the Empire’s grip.

That was a sensible goal – just not one that Lando felt particularly beholden to in this moment.

I was responsible to the people of Cloud City long before I was in command of your forces, he’d told the brass.  And I’d be happy to continue to do so.  But I had no intentions of leaving my facility in the Empire’s hands any longer than I had to.  You’d also stand to gain a safe haven and an intelligence source, but I’m sure not everyone was able to escape, and I’m not leaving them behind now that I’ve met my immediate obligations.

I’m aware I’m not calling the shots here.  But I’m calling them anyway.

And he’d walked out of the conference room, expecting nothing, already planning on calling in favors from old contacts who might be willing to pitch in if they could have some stake in the deal.  He’d had no intentions of asking them to help him, not after what they’d gone through.

Trouble was, Luke was a Jedi now, which meant even a sabacc face couldn’t hide much from him.

“I have some unfinished business,” Lando tried to leave it at.

Luke appraised him in that almost unnervingly compassionate way of his.  “You’re going back to Bespin.”

Immediately Lando held up a hand to stop him.  “Look, I can’t ask this of you – ”

“Yes you can,” he retorted firmly.  “Because it wasn’t you who hurt us.  You were faced with a no-win situation and you did what you thought was best at the time.  If you’d known, Lando…”  He trailed off, shaking his head.  “And even if you did, you had all those lives to weigh against ours.  People you didn’t even know, and a couple of old friends.”  He smiled sadly.  “All of us have lost our homes.  Alderaan is dust, and my homestead is ashes.  At least you can still go back.  You really think we wouldn’t want to help you?”

Pain and sadness were for suckers, he used to think.  Showing them gained you nothing; if you were cheated, outwit them back, and everything was better with a smile and a swig of fine liquor.  But Luke’s words left him feeling raw.  He hadn’t allowed himself to mourn Cloud City for many reasons – he hadn’t been the one tortured or sold or maimed, and grieving meant the Empire had won and he wasn’t going to fight back and reclaim it someday.  It wasn’t even grief that overtook him now in the strictest sense, since it wasn’t an end, but a chance at a new beginning.  But being confronted with this acceptance, this kind of unquestioning loyalty, from someone who’d suffered greatly because of his ignorance and ill-fated attempt at insulating himself from the war…

Luke put an arm around his shoulders and turned him back down the corridor to walk alongside him.  “C’mon, we’ll tell the others,” he said, his tone gently encouraging.

The halls were just as bright and vacant as Luke remembered them, and eerie in their silence after the battle, though thickened with far more smoke and blaster ozone than last time.  It was almost a relief – it rendered them less sterile.  Less deceptive of the darkness concealed behind and underneath its pristine white walls.

That darkness wasn’t intrinsic, he had to remind himself.  This was just a mining facility and pleasure resort.  It wasn’t Lando’s or anyone else’s fault the Empire had descended here and left their taint like a carbon score that couldn’t quite be scrubbed out.

The compulsion to retrace his steps gnawed at him, even as his most primal fears bade him to ignore the urge.  There was nothing left here but memories, ones he didn’t need to dredge up.  He’d forgiven his father, and his father was gone, and he had survived his own trial with the Dark Side.

Luke found himself walking the path anyway, sweat gathering on his left palm.

As dim and foreboding as it had been the first time, the carbonite freezing chamber hummed with the same deep vibrations of dormant machinery, the kind of heavy, ringing quiet that poured into his ears like molten metal and solidified.  The hose he’d cut was repaired, and the pit lay open to receive another payload of tibanna gas.

Another victim.

Leia had stood and watched here while Han was lowered into that pit, just before he’d entered and met Vader.  Luke’s legs felt unsteady as he came down the stairs.

So many things could have gone even worse here.  Han could have perished from the freezing process.  He could have succumbed to it rather than being able to jump clear with the Force, and been carted away to the Emperor even sooner.  Leia or Chewie or Lando could have been killed in the ensuing firefight during their escape.  He could have plummeted straight down the city’s core shaft right after being sucked out of the broken window, or not been caught by its vacuum currents on his second fall.  As nightmarish as this time and place turned out to be, it was a wonder they’d made it out alive and as fortunate as they could’ve been for the circumstances.

With his heart beating swiftly, Luke skirted around the edge of the pit and leapt down into the blackness, where he’d gone to pursue Vader and his own thirst for vengeance.

The only true sounds were the soft, echoing tread of his footsteps and the tremble of his breath, but he kept expecting to hear the snap-hiss of a lightsaber and the slow, harsh bellows of a respirator.  Despite the awareness of when he was, his hand rested on the pommel of his own weapon.

The observation window was also replaced, once again a barrier between him and the gantry he’d been forced out onto, and all the equipment that had been ripped from the walls put back in their places.  No trace remained of their duel.  It felt like a waking dream, or even a vision, a taunting artifice reestablished as if he had the chance to remake this encounter with new insight.  If only he’d known.  If only.

Luke approached the window and pressed his palms against its cold surface, a grief so sudden and violent constricting his chest that he struggled to breathe.  Tears had been shed over his father’s death, but he’d been almost too numb with shock and insulated by the reassurance that Anakin had finally found peace in the Force to let himself be overcome.  This, now – this was too much.  Dwelling on the terrible fact that they’d come to blows here, that a man was so desperately twisted he could fight and wound his own son, and in ignorance he’d fought back in hatred, wishing nothing more than to kill him in return, when instead he could’ve grown under his care and knowledge and love, when they could’ve shared their lives together…

But it was too late, and there was no going back for another chance.  “Father,” Luke whispered plaintively, gulping in air as tears spilled forth, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the pane.  Now he keenly felt the loss of his father, and of all the hostility and vast separation between them.

Father…

“Luke.”

The air spoke to him in the shape of his name, and at first Luke thought he imagined it over the wretched noise of his own crying.  Then a strange, prickling warmth spread across his back and upper arms, and encircled his right wrist, and the hair on his neck stood.

“Luke,” the voice said again, that of a young man wholly unfamiliar and yet known to him, roughened with emotion.  The edges of his vision were filled with a gentle blue light.

Luke crumpled against the window and slid down to the floor, sobbing.  The spirit – Anakin, his father – enveloped him in warmth, but offered no more words, because there were none.  Both of them mourned alike and together, reunited but still separated by the veil between life and death.

After some time Luke gasped out, “I wish…I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I won’t, Luke,” Anakin promised.  “I never will.”  The warmth touched his chest, over his heart.  “I’ll always be with you.”

“It’s not the same.”

“I know.”  There was a regretful wryness in his tone.  “I know it’s not.  But it’s the truth.  You’ll never be alone.  Wherever the Force is, I’ll be there too.”  Anakin’s intangible fingers caressed his hair.  “And when it’s your time, I’ll be the first face you see.”

“Can I…will I see you again before that?”

Anakin smiled, a spark of some long-buried pain and love shining in his eyes.  “Of course.”

There were so many questions to ask, but now wasn’t the time for them.  Luke simply basked in the bittersweet comfort of his father’s presence and gave full vent to his sadness.

Later he wasn’t sure how much time passed, if it was only minutes or hours.  Tired and shaky, with his eyes swollen and throat aching, Luke wandered back until he re-emerged into the light, the daytime brilliance hurting his eyes at first.  Right outside the alcove surrounding the maintenance corridor that led to the freezing chamber stood the others, all looking worried and haunted.  Leia’s face was pale and drawn, and for a moment Luke felt apologetic that he had done this, leaving them again to go ponder his own losses.  He wondered if she’d felt all of his anguish.  She and Han already had enough of their own from this place.

Before he could say a word, though, they all gathered around him in a tangled embrace, except for Lando, who kept staring at the doorway.

“I’m sealing up this refinery,” he said, anger simmering beneath his quiet voice.  “Someday I might make it a memorial.  People need to know what the Empire did here.”

Long after they’d all departed the area, Lando’s hand kept a firm grip on Luke’s shoulder, conveying remorse and anchoring him in camaraderie.

None of them wanted to spend the night in any of Cloud City’s suites; besides the fact that Lando and Lobot would need to rework the city’s security codes, they all knew they wouldn’t get a lick of sleep otherwise.  Between checking on civilians and working with the Ugnaughts to dispose of bodies and sort materiel for collection or recycling and assessing property damage, it was easy to avoid sleep altogether.  But eventually Chewie was urging them to get at least a little rest before dawn, and they herded themselves into the Falcon for both mental and physical respite.

Luke and Leia both kept eyeing Han as they watched him go back and forth through the ship several times carrying bedding materials into the cargo hold, then an armful of beers.  When he finally acknowledged their stares he said, “We’re hanging out in here tonight.”

They didn’t question him.  It’d become obvious pretty quickly that Han intended for the four of them to bed down in one space, and Chewie wasn’t going to fit in a cabin with three others, and Luke supposed Han felt it was unfair for him and Leia to share a bunk together off the deck.

They didn’t talk much between quaffing the beer, too weary and shaken in confronting the horror of their first time here and just content in the moment with their closeness.  Eventually another pair of boots rang slowly through the ship and Lando’s silhouette filled the hatchway, and Han waved a hand to invite him in.

After his third bottle Han glanced up at Leia and said, “Hey.  We’re getting married,” in a calmly casual manner, as if he meant to remind her of something trivial, but there was a nervous hope and vulnerability in his eyes.  Leia regarded him for a minute with a soft wonder that shifted into amusement.  “I know,” she replied, deadpan.  Luke snorted, feeling like he was missing something but appreciating the humor nonetheless.  Over Leia’s shoulder he could see Lando studying the two of them, something profound in his otherwise neutral expression.

A short while later Lando broke the silence again with an idle mutter.  “Need to modify the sensors in the core shaft.  If anything else that isn’t refuse falls down there and winds up in the disposal chutes, I don’t want them hanging off the weather vanes.”

Luke craned his neck and half sat up to peer at him incredulously.  Was he being serious or sardonic?  He caught Lando meeting his curious gaze.  “Not that I anticipate that happening again,” Lando added.  There was a definite glint of exasperated humor in his eyes, but there was nothing trite about his tone.  Luke had to conclude he was sincere in his concern about how he’d nearly plummeted to his death.  It was a wonder anything had broken his fall down there, let alone an air current.

He hadn’t even been hoping for it the moment he’d decided to jump.

It had taken Luke some time to get used to the realization that Lando hadn’t only seen defeat and vulnerability in him when he’d pulled him to safety off the Falcon’s hull.  That admiration didn’t manifest in overt flattery or reverence, though, as it did with many others.  Lando had simply granted him a deep yet quiet respect from the day they’d met, just for having survived such a crucible.  There’d been an almost astonishing ease to their friendship, quite different from the bond he’d formed with Han.

With the beer settling into his weary frame like a warm weight, Luke reclined again and let his head rest against Lando’s knee, and his eyes grew heavy when he felt fingers gently play through his hair.

When Luke finally managed to nod off, he dreamed of a green paradise with wildflower-laden meadows and great waterfalls, and a young man and woman frolicking through them, carefree and joyful, their laughter ringing across the heavens.

#the feels are strong with this one #my fics #star wars #lando calrissian #luke skywalker #han solo #leia organa #chewbacca #anakin skywalker #back to bespin

[sky-scribbles]

Darth Malak knows everything there is to know about how Revan fights. But this isn’t Revan.

He knows the length of her reach, knows how fast she can run, knows how hard her Force-pushes punch. But the woman who he sparred with, trained with, planned strategies with, shared battlefields with… she’s gone, and in her place is a stranger.

Or maybe the stranger’s just layered on top of her and tangled up with her. Because the person he’s fighting is so, so achingly close to being his old friend, but she’s not Revan – and she’s going to kill him.

He’s planned for this battle, but he planned to fight Revan. He planned to fight someone whose every movement he could predict. Instead, he’s fighting someone who’s surprising him again and again and again. Just when he thinks he has her trapped in a blade-lock, she draws a blaster with her free hand and sends a shot smacking into his shoulder, forcing him to pull back. When he’s closing in on her, ready to bring his lightsaber down on her neck, she whips a handful of metal shards from a pocket – droid components, he thinks –and hurls them into his path. His feet catch on them, he stumbles – and she darts away, unharmed.

And when their duel is at its most ferocious – the red blade crashing against the purple, the hiss of colliding energy beams reverberating from every wall –  she springs backwards and holds out her hand. The Force slams into him from behind, ramming him forward. And under his feet, there’s a click as he triggers a mine he never even saw her place.

As the blast sends him flying and he crashes to the ground, he knows it’s over. You can’t fight once your lightsaber has been blasted into fragments, your right leg is gone and your entire body is swathed in burns. And as Malak watches her advance, blade humming in her hand, rage boils in his throat. If it had to end, it should have ended at her hands. At Revan’s hands. He should have died on her blade, and she should have been the one to stand over him as everything stopped.

The Jedi have taken even that from him. He’s been killed by a stranger. He’ll die, and his only company will be a woman who doesn’t exist.

He will die alone.

She reaches him, and looks down at him for a moment. Then she swallows, deactivates her lightsaber, and sits down at his side.

And for a moment, he forgets that she fought with moves he never could have predicted. He forgets what the Jedi did to her mind and her memories. He forgets that it shouldn’t be like this. Because his old friend’s face is looking down at him, the same freckles and tangled waves of hair that he remembers – and before he can stop himself, he’s lifting his head and rasping out a name. ‘Avona.’

Her lips part. She looks at him for a long moment, frowning, focusing.

‘That was my name,’ she says at last. ‘Avona.’

The metal of his jaw prosthesis clinks on the floor as he lets his head drop back down. ‘Do you remember mine?’

A second passes, and another. He closes his eyes. She doesn’t remember. This isn’t her. He’s alone.

‘Alek.’

His eyes snap open. There’s a tear tracing a careful path between her freckles.

‘That’s all I remember. I know that we were friends, but I don’t remember anything else, and – I’m sorry.’ She draws in a slow, deliberate breath. ‘But I want to. I’m going to remember you. I’m going to remember me.’

He thinks of climbing trees in the Jedi enclave with her, back when they were children wearing overlarge robes. Of how she came to him after the war broke out, lips set into a thin line, and asked if he’d follow her – and how he gripped her shoulder and said always. Of all the times he helped her to her feet in the aftermath of a battle, and all the times she dragged him to safety when he was too battered to stand. All the times one of them washed the other’s blood out of their robes.

How can they have stolen all of that from her?

‘She’s gone,’ he hears himself say, and the words hurt worse than his wounds ever could. 

‘No. She’s here.’ She knocks her fingers against her temple. ‘Buried and pushed to the edges, but she’s there. And I’m not going to stop trying until I’ve dug up the memories she had. It’s going to hurt, but…’

A shudder runs through her shoulders, and when she speaks again, her voice is full of cracks. ‘I’m sorry she can’t be here. I’m sorry all you’ve got is someone who barely knows you. I’m sorry I’m just a messed-up bundle of people who’s a bit of a Sith and a bit of a Jedi and a bit of a scout who never existed. But I’m – I’m someone, and I’m here. And I’m going to remember you, Alek. I’m going to remember.’

She smiles, and lays her hand on his shoulder.

And for a moment, he’s lying on the Dantooine grass after another sparring session, with brith wheeling in the skies above him and sunlight warm on his face. The ache in his body is trickling away, and it’s all right, everything’s all right if she’s here and smiling at him and he isn’t alone.

She’s speaking again, but the words are blurry and far away. So Alek closes his eyes again, and drinks in the feeling of her touch, the sense of her presence, hanging on the faint murmur of her voice as the darkness presses in.

#kotor #kotor fanfiction #darth malak #f!revan #oc: kessany kana #(even though i didn't use that name for her in this) #kotor spoilers #i've seen a lot of people write their takes on this scene #all of which were beautiful #and i really wanted to write how it went with my revan #so have some angst #sky's writing

[quietdreamcatcher]

Title: Monster in us

Tags: Post-war AU, one-shot

Inspired by this prompt: "Kylo….” "Scavenger" “I'll leave you two alone" Luke said, "You're giving me a damn headache.

Synopsis: Kylo and Rey come to terms with what their bond means to them.  Also, Luke just wants them to not kill each other in their field missions together.

"You two are leaving tomorrow and I need to know you are going to act like mature adults and be civil with each other."

Luke Skywalker stood between his former students who looked like they were only too happy to force choke each other from across the room. He stared pointedly at both of them but they both ignored him.

Kylo Ren, former master of the Knights of Ren, and Rey, the war hero and slave-turned-savior continued to stare at each other intently. The only indication that they heard Luke's exasperated plea was a raised sardonic brow from Kylo while Rey merely narrowed his eyes at her former enemy.

Luke shook his head, apparently giving up at that notion. "At the very least, I need to know you're not going to try and kill each other."

They were in the Millennium Falcon in a Resistance base discussing Rey and Kylo's field mission tomorrow to the Unknown Regions. However, one sarcastic remark led to a terse reply and what was supposed to be a short briefing snowballed into a tirade of insults between the two young force users.

After months of deliberation, it was agreed upon by the Resistance leaders, at the insistence of Luke, that instead of execution or lifetime imprisonment, it would be more advantageous to their cause if more defectors of the First Order, like Kylo Ren and Finn, are shown to be helping the Resistance. It would cripple the remaining faction of First Order sympathizers if the Resistance can recruit more former stormtroopers and former First Order allies who were initially wary of switching sides.

Despite Kylo's assistance in defeating the First Order and Snoke, it was agreed that Kylo was still too dangerous and unpredictable to be trusted. They assigned Rey to monitor him while he served out his sentence since she was the only one capable of stopping him.

"I don't know…" Kylo Ren drawled, "I have been itching for a rematch of our lightsaber duel."

Rey snorted. "Don't bother, I'm just gonna beat you again."

"You sound pretty sure of that. You think you can beat me without a handicap?"

Rey rolled his eyes at him. "Says the person who I left flat on his back looking up at me, begging for mercy.

Kylo paused at that before his lips stretched into a devilish smile. "Maybe next time I can have you flat on your back begging me for mercy. I mean, you never know. We can get very physical."

Rey's face turned red. She spluttered, unable to get her words out through her irritation. "Kylo…."

"Scavenger," Kylo mocked.

"I'll leave you two alone." Luke said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're giving me a damn headache." And with that, he turned and left, his heavy footfalls the only sound echoing inside the Falcon as a heavy silence settled between Kylo and Rey.

Rey's eyes followed Luke's retreating back but she could still feel Kylo's gaze on her. Deliberately ignoring him, she turned and walked towards the cockpit, settling herself on the pilot's chair.

Kylo followed her but stopped by the door.

"Okay, seriously, are you going to tell me what's going on with you or do I have to guess?" Rey heard him say behind her.

There was a pregnant pause before Rey said, "I don't know what you mean."

"We got along fine even during the war—"

"Hardly"

"I meant after I defected."

"I know what you meant."

"Fine. We got along better during the months after the First Order's defeat." Somehow, she knew he was rolling his eyes. "You even supported Luke's testimony during my trial."

"Hmph." Rey refrained from replying. He was right. By no means were they friends. But hostilities between them had faded long ago. She can even go as far to say that she was beginning to be at ease in his company.

If it just wasn't for… she thought regretfully.

"Lately, you've been acting like being assigned to me is the worst thing that ever happened to you." In a deadpan tone, he said, "Care to explain?"

Rey swivelled her chair to look at him. He was donning his usual blank mask. "We'll be sent to ravaged planets in the Unknown Regions. We won't exactly be sent to exotic, luxurious lands for a vacation."

"If you ask that friend of yours, it can't be that much worse than Jakku." Kylo smirked lightening the mood.

Rey couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up inside her at the thought of Finn. "Oh, do shut up your royal highness!"

Kylo's eyes softened at her grin before he turned serious. "Rey…"

She sensed the gravity in his voice this time. Her mirth subsided.

"You may not like it but we're bonded. I can sense your fear of me."

That startled her. "Ben, no." Rey shook her head. "I'm not afraid of you."

Kylo jerked his face away from her. He still couldn't accept the name, albeit for reasons now much more complicated than wanting to cut ties with his family.

But for Rey, it was a name reserved for moments when she wanted to reach out to him, to make him understand, moments such as these. "I feel like I really know you. We can sense each other's mind so much that sometimes… sometimes I don't know where you begin and I end."

Kylo stared at her intently, assessing the truthfulness of her words.

She broke away from his gaze and lowered her eyes to the floor. "I know you're not a threat. I trust myself and my own abilities to sense if you are."

He scoffed. "No. You do see me as a threat. But not physically. No. You're much too strong for that. It's this you are scared of…" He raised a hand towards her. Suddenly, she could feel him reaching out through their force bond, tracing a line through her thoughts.

"Stop!" She felt her reservations tug deep in her belly and she knew he could sense that too. She pushed him out but not completely. She could never really shake him off and it wasn't for the lack of trying.

Kylo drew his hand back. He speared his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"I know the truth you try to deny. You are as much of a mess of emotions as I am. You said that you don't know where you or I end. And that's what scares you, isn't it? This—" his hand gestured to an invisible thread between them "—bond is getting stronger by the day and you're scared about losing yourself."

Rey stood up and straightened her shoulders. "Scared? You can say that. But I'm just sure of an overwhelming anger. Directed at everyone and no one in particular..." Her eyes didn't waver. Her chin tilted up at him in challenge. "I also know it's somehow because of you. If I'm scared it's because no one in their right mind would want to share minds with a monster."

Rey blinked at the familiar insult. She didn't mean to say it but she couldn't take it back. Not when he still deserved it.

Silence lengthened uncomfortably between them.

Kylo's face remained passive but Rey could see the façade for what it was. She was so intuned with everything about him that she saw the slight twitch of his fingers, the hard swallow and the hitch in his breathe.

She softened her tone. "I didn't want to tell you because I know you're trying. But I also know the agony you still feel won't resolve itself immediately." Rey sighed. "You're transmitting your negative feelings through our bond. It can't be helped for now. So I thought I could handle things on my end by myself so you wouldn't need to concern yourself. But apparently, I'm failing miserably at that. I didn't mean to take it out on anybody." She smiled wryly.

Kylo released a pent up breath. "I suspected as much." He sank to the floor, leaning his head on the door frame. "You don't need to work through this alone, you know. Not when I understand what you're going through."

Rey remained silent, waiting for him to continue, fascinated by his willingness to put his walls away. At least for the moment.

His eyes clouded from long ago memories. "I had Snoke whispering things in my head ever since I could remember. I couldn't tell which were my own thoughts and which were his lies. I just felt a darkness I couldn't shake even when I was with people I care about. I needed help but I was alone. At least… that's what it felt like." His eyes roamed the interior of the Falcon where his whole family once gathered. His chin fell to his chest as he wearily pressed his palms to his eyes. "There were so much pain and anger that I lost myself. When I found out that Darth Vader was my grandfather, I clung to that with desperation. He was the only part of me I was allowed to have."

Rey sank to her knees beside him. She didn't have anything to say. How could she? But his words resonated within her. She understood them much more than anyone could ever do.

Their bond felt taught like it was pulling them towards each other. She reached out a tentative hand to touch his arm, needing to feel a physical connection with him. She felt him stiffen but he didn't move away from her touch.

"Ben…"

Kylo flinched but slowly turned to look at her. She was unaware of how her eyes were bright with tenderness and sorrow.

"Rey..." he breathed out her name in a regretful sigh, "You have a forgiving nature. I don't want you to think that any scraps of humanity left in me is deserving of your compassion. I am still a monster like you said."

Kylo let out a sardonic laugh. Harsh and painful to hear. "Do you know how I felt when Snoke died?"

Rey could only shake her head. Her throat felt tight with emotion.

"There was relief. For a while. But nothing really changed for me. His physical body may be gone but his presence is always with me." His voice broke. "He's still here." Kylo started pounding his fists in his temples. "I can still feel him here!" He slammed his fist on the floor beside him leaving a dent on the surface.

Rey launched herself at him to stop him from injuring himself. "I'm here! I'm here!" She cried out. "Look!" She captured his hands and laid them on her cheeks, momentarily not caring about the intimacy of her actions. "I'm the one here. We defeated Snoke. Whatever the problems we have now, he's still gone."

She reached out to him through their bond. I'm here. We're the only ones here.

Kylo sagged against her. His arms hanging limply by his sides.

She cradled his head on the curve between her neck and shoulder. She could feel his wet lashes pressed against her skin. "We have to stop hiding from each other. It's like you said, we're both an emotional mess. That's why… that's why we need each other to sort this out. We'll keep each other grounded. Things won't always be like this."

"You're too trusting," he mumbled resignedly.

"No, I'm not. Far from it." Talking to him like this, Rey's mind felt clearer than it had in days. How curious. "It’s just that I've been a scavenger, a resistance fighter, a jedi, just so many different things in a short amount of time that I can't help but feel that people can change when given the chance."

When he lifted his head from her shoulder, Rey pressed her forehead to his, closed her eyes and whispered, "Why settle for being a monster when you're being given a chance to be a hero?"

The heaviness in his chest seemed to dissipate. And for once, there was only Rey in his mind.

Kylo's eyes drifted close.

From inside the base, Luke was meditating when he felt a shift in the air. He opened his eyes and turned his head to the general direction of the Falcon.

A rare smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"I think they're going to be alright."

Kylo and Rey were stepping out of the Millenium Falcon when Rey spoke contemplatively as if she was just speaking to herself.

"It's funny…" she said, stopping in her tracks.

Kylo turned to face her. She tilted her head, smiling bemusedly at him.

"I've been alone almost all my life. It's only recently that I had friends, people to trust, a home. I didn't have those before and everything seemed to happen all at once. All those still feel so foreign to me."

Kylo contented himself with observing her as he waited for her to continue. She seemed more like herself now. He couldn't help but feel that he too felt lighter somehow.

"But then there's you. We're barely even friends so I don't know what we are. But you've become an indispensable part of me. You're in my blood and waking thoughts. I don't know if it's because of the force bond or…"

"Or what?" he quietly prodded after her words just trailed off. He was staring at her with so much fascination. "Rey?"

Their bond pulsed steadily between them but her heart thumped erratically in her sternum.

Rey shrugged trying to seem nonchalant but a heat was spreading from her neck to her cheeks. They had promised not to hide anything from each other so she forced the words out. "Or it's just me… who just can't help thinking about you."

Silently, Kylo raised a hand and tugged a wayward lock of her hair behind her ear.

I don't deserve you.

The words floated in her mind. She didn't know if he meant for her to hear that. So she said nothing.

"So…Our mission tomorrow."

"What?" Rey blinked torpidly at the sudden change of topic.

"Our mission tomorrow." Kylo repeated. "Is that how you plan to introduce us to foreign leaders?" He raised a brow at her, mischief in his eyes. "As not quite friends?"

Rey gave a surprised laugh, crinkling her eyes and nose. "It's not a bad plan. Maybe with such a weird introduction, they'll be too surprised to kick us out."

"Or maybe." Kylo captured both her hands. "We can try and make it work between us so someday you can tell people we're partners instead." He gave her a hopeful smile. "Or something like that."

There was nothing platonic in the gaze he fixed on her. She suddenly had a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Maybe…" She gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. "Maybe something like that."

Not quite friends, not yet lovers but something in between.

End?

A/N: This is my first try writing Reylo. What do you guys think? Believe it or not, this was supposed to be a lighthearted smut. Maybe next time. Also posted here in my ff.net

#reylo #reylo fanfic #mine #Jan writes #queue

[inkognito97]

Can we have Vader look for obiwan so he can find luke and leia who were experimented and got superpowers? With Vader finally finding a tired old obiwan who's got magneto's powers and created a bunch of scrap metal art to help make a living on the side. Bonus points with Vader apologizing to obiwan and begging for help to find the twins.

Includes the following prompt:

For the xmen au in starwars where the empire experiments on force users, could we have satine show up as mystique with her being born with the powers naturally. And she settles down with obiwan who has magneto’s powers with the two trying not to draw attention but anakin finds them to ask for help on finding his kids?  - mostie01

@mostie01

I hope you don’t mind that I changed Obi-Wan’s powers to Professor X’s power. It seemed to fit better, especially if I can see Anakin/ Darth Vader as the ‘metal bender’. :)

Also I would like to mention that Anakin does NOT have the Darth Vader suit in this one, he is mostly human, with only a couple of mechanic components in his body. (He did not burn half to death on Mustafar, nor did he lose ALL his limbs)

Darth Vader was pacing and every stormtrooper knew what that meant. The dark Lord was not to be disturbed while he paced, otherwise it might end in a death experience or in the worst case, the Sith Lord would run amok and it would all be a great catastrophe. It had all happened already and nobody was eager to repeat that particular experience.

The Sith Lord himself, was furious. His anger however, was directed at himself. How hard could it be to find a certain Jedi in the galaxy? The men he had sent out to find him, had all returned with the same message, they had not found any trace of him. Yet, the dark Lord had been sure about the last few planets he had sent his subordinates to. A growl escaped him. His Master would not tolerate more fruitless searches, he knew that. Other methods were needed, but the man was none to eager to use them. He would need to delve deep into the Force for his search to be successful. And with deep, he meant VERY deep. The chance was high to lose yourself into the hurricane that was the Force, even more dangerous was it, to search in the light side as a dark side user. Darth Vader made himself no false hopes, he would need to walk back into the light - at least somewhat - to find Obi-Wan and to convince the man to help him find his children. Furthermore, he doubted that either Luke or Leia would want to have anything to do with him as long as they considered him to be the great evil they had to fight against.

With a deep sigh, the dark Lord ceased his pacing. He turned around one last time and literally stormed out of the bridge, leaving behind a large group of relieved workers. The tension left with the Sith Lord and they were finally able to concentrate on their work again, without the fear of being killed by the slightest mistake. It was not always easy to work for the empire, actually, most of them were not here on their own free will. But to work under someone like Vader, was pure hell.

Darth Vader sat cross-legged on the ground, mindful of his cape. He took the helmet off and set it next to him. It was a protection against Force powers that attacked the mind, otherwise he would not wear that stupid thing. The only thing it really did for him, was ruin his hair and giving him a major headache. 

He took calming breathes, finding a soothing rhythm, then he closed his eyes to shut out outside disturbances as good as possible. Finally, he opened his mind to the Force, ALL of the Force, not only the dark side. Sidious would kill him for this step, but at this point, he was desperate. Finding Leia and Luke was his goal, the only one he currently had.

To Darth Vader’s surprise, the light side welcomed him with open arms. It was warm and it felt like it always had. It felt like Obi-Wan, the man man, who had raised him and who had helped and often defended him. It felt like the Obi-Wan that Anakin Skywalker had loved like a brother, a father even. It felt like the Obi-Wan, BEFORE Sidious’ poisonous words. Unknown to him, did a tear escape his closed eye. Up until now, he had not realized how much he had missed the other male’s constant presence, how much he had missed the comfort Obi-Wan had offered. 

It was like somebody had hit his head with a huge rock, until he came back to his senses. Perhaps for the first time in years, he saw clearly again, through the dark fog that Sidious had erected around his mind. He saw what he had done, to the Jedi Order and to the galaxy. He saw how much he had hurt his former Master, how he had killed those poor and innocent Younglings in cold blood and without hesitation and he remembered the act of treachery against those, he considered family. How could he hope that Obi-Wan would ever forgive him enough, to tell him, where his children were? How could he forgive himself, for what he did to everyone, including Padme? How could he face his children after everything he had done?

Something swirled at the edge of his awareness, it was a familiar feeling. The Sith Lord immediately recognized it as the man he had been looking for, for so very long. Anakin opened his eyes, Anakin NOT Darth Vader. 

“Tatooine,” he breathed out in disbelief. Then again, he should have expected Obi-Wan to go to the last place, he ever wanted to set foot on. With the will to make a change, Anakin stood up. The helm remained forgotten on the floor, joined by his cape. He would travel to Tatooine, that much was clear.

Anakin was not happy to have to return to the dust ball he once called home. No, that was not right. He had never called Tatooine his home, he had called his mother home and his mother had just happened to live on the desert planet. There wasn’t more to it.

The former Jedi blinked against the combined light of the twin suns. The local people, those who gladly did not recognize him as Darth Vader, not without his cape and helmet, had told him about a strange man and woman, living in a hut near the desert. The description of the man had fitted, it just HAD to be Obi-Wan, but the identity of the female remained a mystery to Anakin. It didn’t matter, he would find it out sooner or later.

“I just hope I will arrive soon,” the blonde muttered to himself. He could feel that a sandstorm was coming and everyone, who had ever lived on a planet like Tatooine, knew that a sandstorm was dangerous. Sand, that was his number one enemy, always had been and always would be. The small grains just had the tendency to get into every pore and they itched, terribly.

By the time he reached the hut that the locals have described, the wind had already picked up, sending sand grains flying into Anakin’s face. At this point, he was also able to pick up the Force signature of two people, one male and the other one female. It was undeniable, one of them was Obi-Wan and the other one seemed familiar too… the name of the second person, was on Anakin’s tongue, but it wouldn’t come out.

The blond Force user took a deep breath as he stood before the closed door. The windows were closed too, surely to keep the sand out as good as possible. He hesitated for another moment, before he raised his hand to knock. 

The sounds from inside the hut stopped abruptly. A shuffling sound could be heard and a moment later, the door opened to reveal a pale skinned woman with blond hair. Suddenly it hit Anakin, Satine Kryze, former duchess of Mandalore. But what in the name of the Force, was she doing here?

The woman’s eye became wide and a gasp escaped her. Unconsciously, she let go of the door and stepped aside, making room for Anakin to enter, had he wanted to. “Obi-Wan!” she yelled.

It was a mere second later that Satine was pulled back and a man stepped forward and even though he had more wrinkled and his hair was more grey than red at this point, it was undeniable Obi-Wan. And he did not look happy to see him, he even had his lightsaber in his hand.

It would have been easy to draw his own lightsaber and to start a duel that he was more likely to win - though you could never be too sure about that - but that was not, what Anakin had come for. Without further ado, he slid to his knees. Obi-Wan was obviously taken aback.

“I am sorry,” Anakin said and he bowed forward until his forehead rested on the floor. “I know that it was terrible what I have done and I know that you will never forgive me for it, I cannot expect you to. Just… please, tell me, were my children are…” he knew he was crying, but he did not care. “I want to see them… just ones… that’s all.”

He didn’t see that Satine and Obi-Wan shared a look, neither did he notice that the former Jedi Master’s lightsaber was put aside, not until a warm hand settled on his upper back and Obi-Wan was kneeling before him. With teary eyes, Anakin looked up.

“Welcome back… Anakin…”

#star wars #mutant au #obi wan kenobi #satine kryze #obitine #anakin skywalker #darth vader #mystique satine #x men #crossover #anakin and obi-wan confrontation #tatooine #prompt #anonymous

[greed-the-dorkalicious]

So as some of you know, I’ve been working on chapter 8 of BLaD, but now that I’m working on the rewrite it probably won’t be finished for quite some time. Plus I have no idea how many scenes I’m going to have to change, and I can already see some problems with this one... A lot of it, if not almost all of it, will probably be scrapped. But I don’t want what I’ve already written to go to waste, so I’m going to post it here.

Chapter 8, about half finished, still labeled as chapter 7 in the doc:

“I want a TV for my room.”

Dio raised an eyebrow as he glanced up from his chair at Jonathan, who was looming over Dio with his arms crossed and lips drawn tight into a frown.

“Making demands now, are we?” Dio questioned amusedly. “And here I thought you were polite.”

“After everything you’ve put me through, I see no reason to be polite. You told me I could have whatever I want- except for, you know, my freedom- so I want my own TV,” Jonathan repeated.

Dio snorted. “Really, where have your manners gone? What would that little wife of yours say?”

Jonathan actually laughed out loud at that. “You’re joking, right? Some of the most vulgar things I’ve ever heard anyone say were things Erina said about you,” he pointed out bitterly.

Dio frowned briefly, looking grave for a moment, before quickly returning to his usual smug demeanor.

“Fine. I’ll see to it that you get a TV,” he promised.

Jonathan smiled slightly, nodding in satisfaction. “Th- Good,” he said, quickly correcting himself after almost saying “thank you”; politeness was a habit for him, but it was a courtesy Dio did not deserve.

Dio snickered at Jonathan’s slip-up, but Jonathan paid it no mind as he abruptly turned around to leave. He walked with conviction, not in the mood to be in Dio’s company any longer than necessary.

“By the way, a friend of mine will be joining us for dinner tomorrow,” Dio called after him.

Jonathan ignored the offhand comment, leaving the room without looking back.

---

Dio had stayed true to his word, and within a few hours a TV was brought to Jonathan’s room, along with a lovely wooden cabinet to house it.

“Alright, that should do it,” d’Arby declared as he arranged some cords so they were out of the way. “Let me know if you have any problems.”

“Thank you,” Jonathan told him. From what he’d heard from Jotaro, d’Arby wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of morality, but Jonathan still just couldn’t help but be polite to anyone other than Dio.

D’Arby nodded, and placed the remote on the nightstand before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

Several moments after d’Arby had left, as Jonathan studied the TV’s remote, Jotaro materialized in the air next to him. Though he did catch the telltale shimmer of light out of the corner of his eye, it felt more like Jonathan sensed Jotaro’s appearance than anything.

“Why do you need a TV in your room?” Jotaro asked, sounding slightly puzzled, although (as usual) his face showed little trace of emotion.

Jonathan smiled at Jotaro. “It’s for you, silly,” he answered with a slight laugh.

Jotaro frowned in confusion. “For… me?” he repeated hesitantly, confused by the answer. A TV? For him? Why?

“I thought it would be nice, give you something fun to do when I’m reading or whatever,” Jonathan replied. “And the only other TV is in the living room, and I know you don’t come out when there might be other people around, so now you can watch whatever you want without having to hide,” he explained with a gentle smile.

This... was surprising to Jotaro. Which was to be expected; He'd spent the past month living a solitary, hellish existence, with his friends and family gone. His only companion was Jonathan, who was nice enough, but usually busy with his own misery. Jotaro had almost forgotten what it was like to actually receive attention and care from someone else.

"...Thanks," he said honestly, feeling somewhat speechless.

Perhaps Jotaro's face showed more gratitude than his voice did, because Jonathan smiled widely, seemingly quite pleased with his accomplishment. "You're welcome! I hope you like it," he said excitedly.

Hesitantly, Jotaro reached for the remote, staring at it for a moment with a feeling he couldn’t place. Suspicion? Hostility? Some sort of vague feeling like it wasn’t real? It had been so long since any sort of positive anything had happened to him, it almost seemed like his brain (...his figurative brain, anyway) had deemed it a trap of some sort, that it was too good to be true, there had to be some sort of catch. The very concept of something good happening had become so foreign to Jotaro that it made him anxious. It felt like if he dared to indulge in a moment of pleasure, he would suffer even more in punishment.

“...Jotaro? Are you alright?” Jonathan interrupted, pulling Jotaro back to reality.

“Yeah, why?” Jotaro answered.

“Well, it’s just… You’ve been staring at the remote for a while now,” Jonathan pointed out worriedly.

“Oh. Uh, sorry,” Jotaro replied with a frown. What was he doing?

Jotaro shook his head in disbelief, and tried to remind himself that there was nothing wrong. As bizarre as it felt, the TV truly was a good thing- his and Jonathan’s only, not one of Dio’s shallow luxuries, but a thoughtful gift from Jonathan to make Jotaro more comfortable. The TV was safe.

With Jonathan watching him excitedly, Jotaro turned the TV on and began flipping through channels.

It took a little while before Jotaro found something he liked. He caught snippets of soap operas, talk shows, news, reality shows, cartoons, and documentaries, but none of them really caught his eye. Not to mention the language barrier; Jotaro was fluent in Japanese and English, and knew a fair bit of Italian, but naturally, everything on TV in Cairo was in Arabic.

Finally, Jotaro found something he instantly recognized: a familiar movie that was surprisingly not in Arabic, but English with Arabic captions.

“Ooh, this looks interesting. I wonder what it is?” Jonathan commented, watching the people on TV run around.

“It’s called ‘Star Wars’,” Jotaro answered. “It’s a movie about… Well, war. In space. Pretty self-explanatory. It’s one of the old man’s favorite movies.”

Jonathan watched the TV with interest for a few minutes. It certainly seemed fun and dramatic, but it was also clearly in the middle of the movie, so Jonathan didn’t really understand what was going on.

“Is that the protagonist?” he asked Jotaro, indicating the character currently speaking: a man with brown hair, a vest, and a gun.

Jotaro shook his head. “That’s Han Solo. He’s a smuggler. He’s gramps’ favorite character, he always used to say Han reminded him of himself when he was younger,” Jotaro said.

“Well, he’s certainly rude enough,” Jonathan agreed with a laugh. Jotaro, however, said nothing in response; he had gone quiet, frowning after accidentally bringing up a sore subject.

Jotaro stayed silent for several more minutes before finally speaking.

“He took me to see the sequel twice, you know,” he began quietly. “We were visiting in New York when I was 10. The first time, we all went- me, mom, dad, gramps, and grandma… He liked it so much he wanted to see it again, but nobody else wanted to, so I said I’d go with him.” Jotaro paused for a moment before continuing, looking thoughtful.

“...I didn’t really want to see it twice,” he admitted, voice shaking slightly. “I just…” Jotaro trailed off, unable to continue. With eyes downcast, Jotaro ran his hands through his hair, repeating a nervous habit Jonathan had seen him do so many times.

Jonathan put a hand on Jotaro’s shoulder in a silent gesture of sympathy.

“You really loved your grandfather, didn’t you?” Jonathan asked gently.

Jotaro nodded, face buried in his hands. “I should’ve… I should’ve said so. I should’ve been nicer to him. And mom…”

“I know. It’s alright. I felt the same way when I lost my father,” Jonathan admitted. “There’s no point in worrying about it now. I’m sure your family knows how much you care about them,” he promised.

Jotaro said nothing, continuing to hide his face as he tried to compose himself. Jonathan respectfully left him alone, though he himself almost felt like he might cry.

After a few minutes, Jotaro managed to calm down, and let out a tired sigh as he returned his attention to the TV.

“So, do you think you can tell me a bit about the plot?” Jonathan asked, seeing that Jotaro had settled down.

Jotaro nodded, and began pointing out characters on screen. “The blond guy is Luke Skywalker, he’s the protagonist. The girl is Princess Leia. The creepy looking guy in black is the main villain, Darth Vader, and the old dude is Ben Kenobi, he’s sort of the mentor character,” he explained.

Jonathan watched with interest, nodding thoughtfully as he took in this information. “So, is the princess the protagonist’s girlfriend?” he asked curiously.

“Nah, she’s his twin sister, although they don’t know it yet. Also, Vader’s their dad,” Jotaro answered.

“Hey! Why’d you have to ruin the plot twist?” Jonathan gasped, looking slightly hurt and offended.

Jotaro blinked in surprise. “Oh, sorry,” he said casually.

Jonathan shook his head in dismay, but nonetheless returned his attention to the movie.

“Woah, those swords look fun,” he commented in awe.

“They’re called lightsabers,” Jotaro explained. “Pay attention, this scene’s important.”

As Jotaro said, Jonathan paid close attention to the battle on screen, as two characters- the villain and the mentor, he recalled- dueled with glowing swords. Jonathan could hardly bring himself to blink as the lightsabers clashed again and again, producing brightly colored flashes and strange noises, and then-

“...Did… did he just die?” Jonathan questioned hesitantly, staring at the pile of brown cloth where the mentor character had stood. (From what little he’d seen, he couldn’t help but think that that character reminded him of his own old teacher, Will Zeppeli.)

“Yeah. It’s cool though, he shows up as a ghost every so often,” Jotaro answered, showing little emotional reaction to the scene he’d clearly seen many times before.

“Aw, stop telling me everything-”

Before Jonathan could finish his sentence, a loud knock came at the door. Next to him, Jotaro disappeared just as quickly as Ben Kenobi, while Jonathan sighed at the interruption.

“Come in,” he called out unenthusiastically. Of course their moment of leisure couldn’t have gone uninterrupted, he should have known.

The door opened with a creak, revealing, of course, d’Arby.

“Lord Dio would like me to inform you that dinner will be served in 20 minutes,” d’Arby announced.

Jonathan frowned irritatedly. Of course. Of course.

“Fine,” he replied simply. “Is that all?”

“Yes,” d’Arby replied tersely. He nodded his head in a polite gesture of acknowledgement before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

Jonathan sighed once again and flopped down on the bed, one hand behind his head. “So much for finishing the movie, I suppose,” he mumbled to the empty air, as Jotaro was still hiding. Knowing him, Jonathan guessed he wouldn’t be back for a good five minutes or so.

The clock on the wall ticked ominously, Jonathan’s stomach growled, Luke Skywalker screamed, and Jonathan groaned in frustration at everything.

---

Reluctantly, Jonathan entered the dining room at the specified time. Although Dio had said one of his “friends” would be joining them for dinner, there didn’t seem to be anyone there but Dio.

“Hello, Jojo. How are you enjoying your new TV?” Dio asked, leaning casually against a wall with his arms crossed.

“It’s- Hold on, you’re wearing that to dinner?” Jonathan questioned in disbelief, raising an eyebrow and wincing slightly at Dio’s… “outfit”, which seemed to be more hole than clothes.

“Yes, why?” Dio replied with a shrug.

Jonathan took a deep, sharp breath in as he continued to grimace at Dio’s outfit with a mixture of disgust and pity.

“You know, considering that is my body, I’d really prefer it if you wore something… More modest and less ugly,” he said slowly.

Dio rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. I’ve seen you wear three shirts and a vest at the same time. You are not in any position to judge my fashion sense,” he pointed out.

“At least my three shirts covered my nipples,” Jonathan retorted with a scowl.

“My nipples are perfectly covered!” Dio insisted.

“Sure, until you move at all. God knows how you even managed to get that thing on without getting tangled up,” Jonathan said dryly.

“Oh, stop being dramatic. You sound like an old lady.”

Before Jonathan could respond, the argument was interrupted by a knock on the doorframe, and an attention-grabbing cough.

“Ah, Pucci! Good to see you!” Dio exclaimed with an unsettling amount of genuine feeling, as Jonathan turned to look at the newcomer.

Whatever sort of vile monster Jonathan had expected Dio’s “friend” to be, the person standing in the doorway was not it. Rather, Dio’s “friend” appeared to be a teenager, with short, silvery-blond hair contrasting against his dark skin, wearing what looked to be some sort of priest’s robes. He leaned against the doorframe with a slight hint of a smile.

While Dio and the newcomer engaged in some sort of conversation, Jonathan couldn’t focus on what they were saying. He was too shocked and uncomfortable with how… innocent the young man in the doorway seemed to be. This was Dio’s “friend”? A priest? And a young one at that! How old was he, Jonathan wondered? 18? 19? Perhaps he wasn’t really a young priest, but some sort of shapeshifter, secretly a 40-year-old criminal mastermind… or… something. Jonathan hoped that was the case. The thought of this boy being under Dio’s thumb was enough to make him feel sick.

“Jojo, I’d like you to meet my friend, Enrico Pucci. Pucci, this is my adoptive brother, Jonathan Joestar,” Dio introduced the two.

“I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you,” Pucci said as he offered Jonathan his hand. He gave a smile that was unsettlingly warm- that was to say, it was genuinely friendly, which was the unsettling part. A friend of Dio’s shouldn’t seem so… normal.

“Um… Hello,” Jonathan replied confusedly, shaking Pucci’s hand with slight hesitation. What was the catch? There had to be a catch, right?

“How was the trip?” Dio asked Pucci casually as the three of them sat down.

“Oh, I can’t complain. I slept through most of it, after all,” Pucci replied. “I am pretty hungry, though. What are we having for dinner?”

“Steak and caviar, unless you’d like something else,” Dio answered.

“No, that sounds great, actually.”

As Dio and Pucci continued talking, Jonathan stared at them, completely slack-jawed. Their conversation was just so bizarrely normal. Civil. Friendly. It sounded like a conversation between an actual, real, ordinary pair of friends, and not a teenage priest and a hundred-year-old mass murderer vampire with a god complex. Jonathan had seen so many strange, twisted, horrifying things over his weeks at Dio’s mansion, and indeed in his life, that they’d become the norm. Seeing Dio, the devil himself, act so sweet and casual was far more unsettling than anything he’d seen yet.

Evidently, Jonathan’s horror and confusion showed on his face, as Pucci glanced at him with a concerned look. “Is something wrong?”

Jonathan stammered awkwardly, struggling to express his feelings in words. “I… you… I don’t-”

“You’ll have to forgive my brother, he’s been dead for a century,” Dio interrupted. “He’s still getting used to things and he’s a bit confused right now.”

Jonathan shot Dio an incredulous glare. “I am not!” he insisted. Pucci, on the other hand, had a more sympathetic look on his face.

“I understand. This must be quite disorienting for you. I’m sorry,” he told Jonathan, putting a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort that felt, frankly, quite condescending.

“Really, I’m fine,” Jonathan repeated, but didn’t press the issue further. Instead, he decided to change the subject.

“So… Pucci, was it? Are you a priest?” Jonathan asked. He kept his tone polite, though he was suspicious of Pucci; Whether Pucci was another unwitting, naive victim of Dio’s charisma, or if he truly was of Dio’s character, Jonathan didn’t know. It was bad either way.

Pucci laughed slightly. “No, no, I still have a long way to go before then. I’m in training at a seminary in Florida. I only started less than two years ago,” he explained.

“And… how old are you?” Jonathan continued, somewhat dreading the answer.

“Sixteen. I met Dio last year,” Pucci replied with a smile. Jonathan felt his stomach drop.

As Jonathan looked at Dio with a wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression of pure horror, Dio deliberately ignored him. Instead, he turned towards the doorway.

“D’Arby! What’s taking so long?!” Dio shouted. Though he was only mildly irritated, his commanding aura made his shout as terrifying as a normal person’s rage. (Pucci seemed unfazed.)

Within seconds, the sound of startled footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall, and d’Arby appeared in the doorway, looking slightly nervous.

“My sincerest apologies, Lord Dio. The new chef isn’t quite used to the kitchen yet, but I will ensure he works faster,” d’Arby promised.

Dio raised an eyebrow. “What new chef?”

“If you may recall, Lord Dio, you ate the previous chef,” d’Arby explained.

“Did I,” Dio replied in an uninterested monotone.

“Yes. You did.”

Dio sighed. “Very well, but if the food’s going to take this long, at least bring out the wine,” he told d’Arby with an air of boredom.

D’Arby nodded and bowed deeply. “Yes, Lord Dio. I will get right on that.” D’Arby immediately backed out of the room, presumably to go fulfill Dio’s orders.

By the time Dio finished his conversation with d'Arby, Jonathan had- for the most part- regained his composure enough to continue speaking.

“Pucci, this may be something of a difficult question, but… Are you aware of what sort of person Dio is?” Jonathan asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Pucci replied. A simple one-word response, but unwavering, with a terse, brisk conviction that said he knew exactly what Jonathan meant.

[quirkypaynesgrey]

Star Wars, “First Scars” Rey/Ben, Reylo, rated Explicit

Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Title: First Scars Author: paynesgrey Characters/Pairings: Rey, Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1975 Spoilers: The Last Jedi Warnings: Sexual situations, Fluff, Established marriage, good!Ben Solo Notes: Takes place far in the future, possibly AU and definitely a What If? scenario. This is established relationship with redeemed Ben Solo. Written for my "scars" prompt for hc-bingo. Summary: Rey and Ben discuss his sentimental value in the scar she gave him, and then things heat up after that. Links: AO3 | Dreamwidth

Rey knew the scars on Ben’s skin weren’t proof enough that he was once Kylo Ren and he had been their enemy. They did not encompass the internal strife that Ben lived with everyday, waking up sweating and shaking in her arms from horrible nightmares.

Yes, once Ben Solo had turned to the dark side. More than once, Rey had to fight against him on the battlefield.

There were times where their battles had felt like yesterday. Other days when she saw his smile or smelled the musky scent tangled in his hair, he seemed a completely different person from a far off past and not the man she came to love.

Watching him sleep, Rey studied him as she snuggled up to him and soaked in the warmth of their large bed. In their modest suite, Rey enjoyed the quieter times alone with Ben rather than their usual duties as ambassadors of the the New Alliance to help forge peace in the galaxy.

Today, sunlight peeked through the large window and painted patterns on his bare skin. She reached out a finger, tracing freckles and spots over his body. Delicately, she brushed her finger over his scars - many of them healed and grafted over beyond their former selves.

The one on his face and shoulder, however, he had kept mostly intact. Long ago, when Supreme Leader Snoke was still alive, Ben had fixed the lightsaber scar that she had given him on their first duel on the snowy landscape. Yet, he had left some of the jagged and gnarled skin as a reminder of his first meeting of her, rather than completely heal it with grafters over time. He could have fixed every scar on his body if he so chose, but this particular one he had kept.

He was sickenly sentimental, she mused fondly.

She ran her index finger over the scar down to his shoulder as his soft breathing began to change. When she finally pulled her hand away, she was startled as he grabbed her hand and squeezed. She met his eyes, now awake, and he grinned wolfishly at her. He pulled her against his chest, and she felt his long dark hair fall over her face like a whisper. She exhaled a heavy breath as his warm mouth met hers, sending a surge of heat and wanting through her frame. He settled on top of her gently arching his body into hers.

“Morning,” she said through the kiss.

“You were assaulting me,” he teased her.

“Not true,” she said defensively. “I was looking at your scar, wondering when you’d get it mended.”

“Never,” he said, showering her with kisses again, his lips leading a path down her neck to her breasts.

“Really, it’s just a scar. The health droids could heal you up in only a couple days,” she said.

“No,” he said forcefully, and his busy hands removed her lower garments. His tone rang final and his thoughts had now moved onto something else. “If we have twins, will you name them Han and Leia?”

“What!” she exclaimed, and Rey tried to escape his grasp but he only held her tighter. “Since when have you had this thought?”

“Since you keep going on about my scar,” he said.

“Look, I’m only saying perhaps you should truly do away with the past,” she said.

He sighed heavily, rolling over on his side and propping his head up as he rested on an elbow. “I have told you before, this scar is special to me. Yes, I was a different person then, but it’s when we first fought. We almost killed each other!”

“Ben, while all of this is true, these are not the makings of a first date. Just because we… fought and I scarred you badly, does not mean you should have any affection for such an old wound,” Rey said.

“And here we are,” he said with a small smile. He locked with her eyes and she fell into his dark, magnetic gaze - the one that almost pulled her to the dark side many times. Thankfully, he had been more inclined to take her hand and fall in step by her side. Of course, she had defeated him and his knights by then, but like the deaths of his parents, those scars were not visible. His defeat at her hands was only a wound to his pride, something from which he recovered.

Lucky for her anyway, as well as the whole galaxy. The Jedi Order, the Sith and the First Order all be damned as Rey and Ben started something new together. More importantly, they started over, and Ben made good on his word he would no longer hurt anyone so long as Rey was with him.

She never knew his words had been a proposal for marriage. Ten years later, as he indicated, here they were.

Rey shifted under him on the bed and smiled, cupping his quiet face and leaning close for a long kiss. “Fine, keep the scar.”

“Will you ever shut up?” he said, pulling her arms over her head and pinning down her wrists. He was already starting to sweat from the heat of the morning. She molded herself against him, and she could feel Force energy in her hair, on the sides of her hips, and at the bottoms of her feet. She moaned softly. Rey loved when he did that.

He silenced her again for another long kiss, and Force energy buzzed around them like static electricity, welcoming them as it always had since the very first time they’d made love. His tongue, devouring her like a lifeline, moved from her mouth and sucked on the pulse of her throat. She felt cold for a moment as he pulled his hands away from her wrists, wrenching free the last thin garment between them, his undergarments. Hard, ready heat rubbed against her. She moaned as his fingers dipped below, lightly caressing her skin and leading a trail to the soft hair between her legs. When he’d found her wetness, his lips returned to her mouth and she welcomed him back, the lazy morning lull gone as rising energy fed her fire.

Ben dipped a finger into the moist apex below, and she mewled softly against his lips before following him in turn and letting her hands flutter over his erect cock, hot and pulsating just like those times she had taken his lightsaber into battle. Her fingers slid up and down the shaft as he arched into her and met her motions. He grunted like a stirring monster as she picked up speed, getting him ready for her.

“Enough,” he growled against her skin, like an order of a Supreme Leader and not her husband. A shiver went through her body from his voice, and her instincts almost appealed to defy him. But not this time. She melted into him, letting him do with her as he pleased.

He shifted, and he moved his fingers to replace with his wet and waiting cock, piercing through the buzz of energy around them and filling her whole. First, he rocked into her slowly, building up suspense and taking her slow. It aggravated her a bit, and he knew it. He chuckled against her skin, settling within her and biting at her quivering lips. She clenched around him, desperate for more speed.

For a controlled moment, he obliged her and finally his speed kicked up. She whined when she felt the edge, a wave of hot, unbridled energy coming to push her over. Gods, he felt so good - wet and hard and always perfectly fitted to her insides. Power radiated from everywhere, and she would blush to admit that yes, Force power resided on that part of him too, mimicking the impulsive, erratic energy that had often put them at odds.

But now Ben Solo used that power in a different way - an only for her.

He gripped her hips hard, leaving marks and Rey began to see stars as he pistoned harder, almost tearing her in two, making her pliant and submissive, leaving her with an unending want that echoed out into the future beyond them.

Ben Solo was her place in this world. Ben Solo was everything she needed, and he showed her every time.

“I’m going to give you twins,” he whispered in her ear - like a raw, unquestionable order that filled her blood with fire. And undertow of emotion left her speechless, and she could only release a ragged breath as she came.

He fell in step with her, not more than a few seconds after his words, and she felt the familiar pool of warmth as he emptied himself inside her.

“Ben,” she said, soaking in those last aftershocks of ecstasy, and he stayed within her, finding her lips again, encasing her in a tender, territorial embrace.

She exhaled heavily, her body raw and tender from his onslaught. The sunlight coming into the window sparkled over them, and as she squinted against the bright light she swore she could hear children laughing - like a dream patient for her to meet it.

Rey rested her head against her husband’s thick chest, and he gave her soft kisses against her temple as he stroked her light brown hair. She painted circles on him and entwined their feet together. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled against him.

“I think I can handle the scar,” she admitted, though if this is what came out of nagging him about it, maybe she should hold onto her words.

“I’m glad you see it my way,” Ben said, his tone light from sleepiness. “Let’s not go to the Senate hearing today. Let’s stay in bed and make future force-sensitive generations.”

“Ha, ha,” she said, though she wanted to agree with him. Having to attend Senate meetings, even as figureheads, was getting rather dreary. “Though, it’s good for peace and needs to be done.”

“Argh,” he groaned with abhorrence. “I was not built for these kinds of things. I’d rather be mauled by a flock of porgs.”

“Ben,” she said, and she turned to meet his eyes with resolution. “It’s only for today. And it’s not like we can go out and find trouble to stop, or even make trouble ourselves.”

“Oh?” he said, his brow rose in consideration of the idea.

“Well, I did hear that there are some skirmishes in the Outer Rim territories. Just minor local militia issues and uprisings to preserve the ideals of the First Order over the poor locals,” Rey said.

Ben’s interested piqued. “Oh, that sounds serious. We may have to deal with that,” he said with resolve. “Much more important than a routine senate meeting.”

“We could check into it…” she said, turning to him with a playful smile. “It definitely wouldn’t be boring.”

He pulled her close to him again and kissed her. “Good, let’s go within the hour. Because I swear if I have to sit through a Senate meeting, I will not be able to control myself while I’m sitting next to you.”

Rey’s eyes widened at his meaning. She was half intrigued to let that play out, and half embarrassed that she knew Ben would definitely keep his word on that.

“Alright, let’s go then..”

He held her against him rigidly and caressed a hand down her shoulder. She looked up at him and lightly traced his scar. “Not yet,” he said, capturing her eyes in an intense lock. She knew what he inferred.

Rey crawled into his lap and rubbed against him, already feeling him harden again. Tenderly, she kissed his lips. Ben arched against her again and wrapped his strong arms around her.

She submitted, and Rey admitted this was one battle she was always willing to lose to him.

END

#reylo #reylo smut #rey x ben solo #rey x ben #rey x kylo ren #star wars #the last jedi #established couple #future fic #fanfic #tlj spoilers

[capricornus-rex]

A Path I Can’t Follow (7)

Chapter 7: Hard Bargain | Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: It was a matter of life and death—the question is, should it be the life of many or one, the death of many or one? Cal Kestis makes what ought to be the biggest and hardest decision of his life as he is pitted with a question of high stakes and morals. He descends to the Dark Side and becomes an Inquisitor. A choice he openly made for the sake of saving you, even if you didn't know you needed it until it was too late.

Tags: Dark Side! Cal Kestis, Inquisitor! Cal Kestis

Also posted in AO3

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 | Previous: Chapter 6 | Next: Chapter 8 | Masterlist

7 of ?

The wee hours have arrived. The village was as silent as the cliffs, a visitation of the evening breeze blanketing the streets in a thin, low haze. The moonlight shone through the shutters and windows of the houses. Cal feels for your steady breathing, your hand secured under his hold, he couldn’t catch a whole, long wink of sleep as the thoughts and imaginings come flooding through his mind.

He couldn’t suppress the shudder that trailed along his spine, his paranoia had turned into goosebumps riddling every pore of his arms, and the hairs on his nape stood up at the echoing, fainting voice of the Inquisitors—their condescending yet threatening tones and their diabolical cackling as they relish on the idea of their plans.

It frustrated him that he couldn’t get them out of his head, given that they had indirectly involved you in their plans—because you’ve taken down one of their own.

A day has passed for you to recover from your wounds. Your bindings had to be changed at least thrice that day; compared to yesterday, you were much abler to move around after a single shot of a healing stim and a good night’s rest. However, Miera strongly disagreed with the idea of you seeing battle.

“Try not to strain yourself,” she gently scolded.

“I’ll try,” there was an uncertainty in your voice, even if it was just half a promise.

You and Cal vocally planned to attempt returning to the temple again. The cover story you told to Razh and Miera was passable: you weren’t able to retrieve the holocron was because you were sidetracked by some graverobbers who used detonators in duel.

Razh had offered supplies from his own inventory to help you replenish your stocks—food rations, a large canister of water, and medical supplies. He even lends you the same Varans the two of you used yesterday. Miera insisted you two have breakfast first.

While you and Cal shared a table with the kindly couple, you steal glances at their baby son who would do his crooked wave at the two of you. He would smile and then giggle whenever either of you would smile back or make little noises to play with him; at one point later, he flimsily rested his little, chubby hand on the back of your arm and cooed playfully at you.

When the meal was over, you washed up and fixed yourself; finally able to wear your jacket by yourself, you marched out of the house with a backpack full of supplies. The Varans recognized your scent and they loudly croaked at the sight of you—a sign of a happy kind of greeting that these animals do.

“Hey there, good to see you too!” you greeted your Varan as you took its reins.

“Try not to get yourself killed a second time,” Razh blurted, particularly to you.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think I will,” you grinned, meaning what you say even while doing so in between chuckles.

The pair of Varans kicked the dust and left a trail of wind billowing Razh’s cloak. The town leader watches his two guests depart the village until they were reduced to black specks over the distance as they rode on.

It was strange, you thought, that you were feeling much better compared to yesterday—and only a short amount of time had passed for you to recover. You wagered it had something to do with Miera’s herbal water plus BD-1’s stim.

When you came down to the pass by the side of the mountain ridge, your eyes wandered all over your surroundings—searching for troopers that might be hiding amongst the rocks—as the Varans trotted along the path. Like the first time, your mounts were uneasy when they had sensed that you were going in the same path as before; you and Cal attempted to calm the creatures as you went along—the great reptilian steeds fought against the dominating strengths of their riders, until you remembered that if they’re agitated, they’re most likely to rear and sprint away, unable to be caught up to.

“Come on, let’s just continue by foot. They can wait there,” you nodded at a dead tree hollow along the path, Cal eventually caved. The two of you dismounted and tethered the creatures to the tree trunk.

The hike had become longer than the first since the Varans were a little farther from where you last left them. On the way to the main entrance, it was the same route, you had to take a hike and jump across the crumbled outdoor stairs that lead straight to the main door.

“Hey, you okay? You’re unusually and awfully quiet,” you nudged at Cal when the two of you landed after the last gap.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just the same funny feeling like the first time we got here,”

“Me too,”

“How are you holding up?”

“Great,”

“Come on,” he brings his hand on your back and guided you as the both of you walked. He would steal glances at you—they were fleeting and private, you barely notice them; if you look back at him—unbeknownst to you—there will be that withdrawn, straight-faced expression, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed together. You can sense a level of paranoia in him, though you hesitate to ask what’s causing it.

The main entrance was getting close. The two of you hatch up a plan and a new strategy in case more of the Inquisitors make a jump on either of you.

“Okay, this time, we’re definitely not splitting up,” Cal initiated.

“Yeah, that didn’t work out well the first time,” you blurted half-jokingly.

It was decided that the two of you head straight ahead to the conclave where you last fought and took down the Eighth Sister. You don’t know how you’d feel if you passed by the improper tomb of the Mirialan Inquisitor, but an eerie thought jumped into your mind.

As you got to the center of the lobby—not even yet close to the makeshift bridge where you two got separated—Stormtroopers came sprouting out of every direction imaginable in the lobby, one cluster of troopers was spearheaded by a Purge Trooper—each one wielding different type of weapon.

“You’re surrounded!” a dual-wielding Purge Trooper hissed arrogantly and confidently.

“There’s nowhere to run, Jedi!” a Stormtrooper, faceless in the swarm, added.

Out of impulse, you and Cal ignited your lightsabers, but before one of the Stormtroopers could squeeze the trigger, the redheaded Jedi flung out his arms to their full length—a powerful wave rippled out of his very person, in result, all of the enemies surrounding you were enveloped in an invisible dome that hindered their every movement.

Cal had them under the influence of his empowered Force Slow.

“Go, I’ll stall them!!!” Cal bellowed, preparing his sequence of whom to attack first until the last of them.

“No, I’m not leaving you alone here!!” you argued.

“PLEASE, [Y/N], JUST GO!! THERE’S NO TIME!!”

There was no time for more argument. You slipped past the gaps between the frozen Stormtroopers standing and moving slower than a snail’s pace. Your legs carried you swiftly and lightly, hopping from one stepping stone to another; in the place of the crumbled portion, you spot a tangle of vines hanging above the parapets, you pulled it towards you using the Force and swung across the gap.

Behind your back, you can hear the wild hissing of Cal’s lightsaber landing on the Stormtroopers’ armors. You dared not to look back and kept pushing, even if it was against your own heart’s will, and stepped into the conclave and approached the door to the inner sanctum of the Holocron.

You tried to clear your mind and focus all your Force on the door. You hoist your hand, your fingers resting on the ornate, spherical knob between the single seam of the sealed door; it was difficult to drown out the sounds of the skirmish outside, nevertheless, you’ve successfully channeled your Force to trigger the door’s mechanism. Finally, you’ve gained access into the inner sanctum.

The splendor of the sanctum made your jaw drop. Upon your arrival, the entire enclave was suddenly illuminated primarily by bioluminescent matter—the cyan-colored matter traced the etchings on the walls and floors, it seemed viscous and gelatinous but it moved fluidly like water. The untouched beauty felt alive—as if it was still in its prime—compared to its dead husk seen on the outside. It felt like time had stopped moving. Everything felt stagnant, yet alive; hollow, yet full of wonder.

The center beacon—although small—was hypnotizing as it was mesmerizing. You moved toward it, not realizing that your legs were moving on their own, gravitating towards the artifact patiently waiting in its little pedestal.

Meanwhile, Cal was able to thin the swarm of enemies—easily cutting down the Stormtroopers, by pulling a number of them towards him so he could cut them down in one fell swoop with his dual-edged lightsaber. He unintentionally left the Purge Troopers for last, although he was able to kill the rifleman Purge Trooper in the middle of fighting the others.

“We will have your blood, Jedi!” the Purge Trooper roared, hammering the ground with the pommel of his electrohammer to assert dominance.

Cal was caught between fighting the dual-wielding and the electrohammer Purge Troopers, but he maximized in using his Force abilities to distribute his attacks on each one. Within a matter of minutes, it was only the electrohammer Purge Trooper that remained.

The brute was slow—enough for Cal to evade him and afford a strike when he’s wide open—although to compensate for that movement, the impacts of his attacks were heavy and deadly. Slowing down the enemy once more, a great overhead strike from the lightsaber made the Purge Trooper’s body go limp to the ground.

Cal watched the electrohammer clatter to the ground—its indigo cracks of electricity gradually flickering and fading—while he catches his breath after singlehandedly taking down a dozen of Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers combined.

“Well, well,” a familiar voice echoed across the lobby. “I wonder how many more surprises you have in store, my boy.”

Cal’s boots skidded across the rough, stone floor, he turned around to his back and saw the Grand Inquisitor standing in front of him; hands held behind his back, his frame constantly towering over Cal and anyone else before him, he kept his observant glower at the young Jedi.

More Stormtroopers appeared out of the pitch black openings of the passages that branched out of the lobby; some appeared out of the doorways, a handful of them—accompanied with Purge Troopers—have pooled and gathered along the broken-off paths that point to the conclave. They held their stance and will only shoot upon the signal of the person in command: the Grand Inquisitor.

“You’re too late! We beat you to the holocron,” Cal spat.

The Pau’an smirked and scoffed through his narrow nostrils.

“See those?” he tilts his head slightly, then points to the Purge Troopers perched on the upper platforms within the lobby. “Upon my order, they will shoot your sweet, darling girl constantly until she is nothing but shreds right in front of you. She will be completely and easily overtaken; and then I will easily take the Holocron from her cold, dead hands.”

A provoked Cal gripped too tightly around his hilt that its sleeve was beginning to creak. The Inquisitor continued his exposition, peppering in his sociopathic chuckles in between his words.

“After that, the village,” he wagged his finger sarcastically. “Oh, the village is an interesting thing: either I garrison the place or my men will plow them down—every last denizen: man, woman, and child—if they ever do so much as point a weapon at a Stormtrooper!”

“Yeah,” Cal hummed angrily, assuming into a stance. “That’s not gonna happen.”

Grand Inquisitor showed one hand holding his saber hilt. One blood-red beam of light emerged, and then another. Cal still had some strength in him left, he snapped his fingers and like second nature, BD-1 shoots out a stim canister at him. The Grand Inquisitor smirked.

“That stim won’t save you, not by a long shot, boy,” He growled.

“Then I’ll make it sure it won’t go to waste!” Cal clapped back.

This is the first time Cal and the Grand Inquisitor clashed blades against one another. This was a firsthand experience for Grand Inquisitor to see how much caliber this youthful Jedi has. Automatically, the Pau’an would always assume he will emerge the victor—but as soon as his blood-red saber collided with Cal’s, he sensed something in this boy that intrigued him.

This child… he thought while keeping a straight face in battle. Is something else. A worthy asset.

Although the battle lacked the theatrics that the Fourth Brother loved so much, it still felt like it dragged on. Cal carefully strategized his every, single move on when and where he was going to strike the Grand Inquisitor.

“Come on, boy! Give me that spectacle you showed with the Fourth Brother!”

The Grand Inquisitor mostly acted on frenzy and violence, hence his fast and aggressive moves. Whenever Cal assumed that he had figured out the enemy’s lightsaber form, that is when the cunning Inquisitor adapts and gradually shifts into a whole new form. When the young Jedi knight realized this, he could not help the fear wash over him and the Grand Inquisitor sensed it.

Where is she?! Cal snarled in his mind, impatient for you to come out of that inner sanctum with the Holocron in your hand.

Little did he know that you got yourself trapped into a Force-induced trance; mentally, you were unable to get out of it and you were already desperate to leave the physical recess of your mind and return to your senses. Voices of millennia past spoke and whispered into your ear, words demanding to be heeded overlapped in your mind—some were angry, some were in despair, the melancholic and gentle ones have been drowned out by the louder ones—you couldn’t narrow it all down to one because it was so overwhelming… and you haven’t even touched the Holocron yet!

For a while, it didn’t appear that the Grand Inquisitor is tiring out nor will he be anytime soon. Perhaps, this was his strategy: to tire out Cal and strike him down. The young knight was already noticeably sluggish, he was only repressing it for as long as he can until he could win a chance to send a flurry of attacks.

“Pitiful!” the Grand Inquisitor spat, throwing a punch and planting his elbow against the boy’s back, for a finisher, he kicked Cal hard and straight to the stomach.

Cal staggered and fell to his knees.

“I’m not finished with you yet!”

“Oh? From the looks of it, you’re already losing,”

“No…” Cal muttered under his breath, blankly staring at the floor with his head bowed down, sucking in large amounts of air as he tries to regain himself.

“Do you want to save her, Cal?”

Cal didn’t respond, whether that was a genuine question or a rhetoric, the Grand Inquisitor knows what belies in that sprightly, young heart of his. In a startling act of mercy, the red beams disappeared into the hilt, the Pau’an walked towards the Jedi and bent down to his level.

“I will not take the holocron, I will spare the village… if you come with me.”

A malicious, triumphant smile curled in the Grand Inquisitor’s face. The shakiness of Cal’s eyes, glassy with confusion and fear, was the first sign of his vulnerability. The Pau’an believed he’s won. He has broken through the boy and his desires.

“As your prisoner and hostage? Please, I still have some dignity left!” Cal spat.

“Oh-ho-ho, no, my boy, no!” the Grand Inquisitor sarcastically gasped. “You will be something, someone, more than a prisoner… way beyond a Jedi!”

“I…” Cal coughed. “I won’t…!”

“Very well, then,” he replied in a melancholic tone. He promptly stood up and turned around, facing the direction of the conclave; instantaneously his tone towards his Stormtroopers sounded like his normal self. “Men, take aim! Kill the girl at all costs. After her, your next directive is the village!”

“WAIT!” Cal cried. In a desperate act, he finally submits. “ALRIGHT, I’LL DO IT!!”

A single, instant raise of the Inquisitor’s arm quickly changed his directive over his troopers from “Shoot to Kill” to “Hold Fire.”

A grin that stretched from ear-to-ear covered his face almost entirely, his topaz eyes gleamed victoriously. He glanced over his shoulder, watching Cal slowly bring himself to his feet. Cal’s eyes were sullen as he levels his eyes to the Grand Inquisitor.

“I’ll come with you,” Cal huffed. “Just don’t hurt her… I can’t live without her.”

“Good. You are a smart, young lad after all.”

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