Chapter Text
“A map leading to the first Jedi temple and Skywalker himself?” Maz shook her head in amazement, “but what do you need from me Han Solo?”
“I just need a clean ship and the best route to get to the new republic. This region is swarming with imps.”
“Trust me I’m aware,” Maz said gravely, and then she turned to Ben he felt like he might want to run away, seeing her eyes on him. “and what do you need?”
“I… I guess I…”
She appeared at him through her spectacles in a way that felt like she was seeing through him. “I’ll come back to you.” Finally, she turned to Finn.
“And you.”
“I need to get as far away from the Empire as possible as soon as possible. There’s no chance we haven’t been recognized already, and I- I can’t do this anymore.”
“You’re not really with the rebels,” Ben said.
“No. I’m not,” Finn admitted. His guilt, rose so suddenly, and so swiftly that even out of practice, Ben could feel it. “How did you figure that out?”
“Well, you’re wearing storm trooper blacks, and you’re one of the most nervous people I’ve met in a while, and that’s saying a lot, I’m guessing you’re a defector.”
“Right again, how long have you known?”
Ben shrugged, “Not a specific moment, you just don’t seem like you actually know what you’re doing. No offense.”
“None taken,” Finn sighed, “you’re right.”
“So what’s your real story. How did you escape?”
“What I told you before about Poe was mostly true. Except when he was captured, I was a stormtrooper on board the star destroyer, and I helped him escape in exchange for safe passage off the ship… Well, so much for the safe part.”
Ben nodded “and you’re gonna run away, can’t say, I begrudge you that.”
“it’s not really like that. I just— this isn’t my fight.”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain anything to me.”
“Well, I guess that settles it. Ben and I’ll bring the droid to Leia and then I guess we’ll see from there,” Han said, ending the back-and-forth.
“Wait a second, I don’t think I agreed to go to the new republic,” Ben said.
“Ben? Your mother is worried sick about you, you should at least talk to her.”
“ You can tell her that I’m fine, besides, Chewie, and I should probably take the Falcons somewhere else to throw off the scent. I’m not—“
“You really think that’s gonna cut it? ‘Tell her I’m fine’?” Han sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Since when has that ever worked with your mother?”
Ben crossed his arms. “I’m not going to the New Republic.” His voice was steady, but there was a quiet resistance Han knew all too well.
Han exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “I get that you don’t want to be tied down or dragged into politics or anything else. Fine. But at least meet us halfway. Literally. Just long enough to talk to her in person. Then you can run off and do whatever it is you think you need to do.”
Ben’s jaw tightened. He knew it would never be that easy. The moment he saw his mother, she’d look at him with worry, hope, and disappointment. He didn’t want any of that.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Han studied him for a long moment, and surprisingly, there was understanding in his eyes. But there was also pleading, and if the ever restrained and careless Han Solo was pleading, the Force only knew what Leia would look like.
“You’re my son, Ben. And I know you’re running from something. But you can’t outrun your family, and you sure as hell can’t outrun yourself. Trust me, I know.”
“I’m not running.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
For a long moment, they locked eyes in tense silence, as if the whole planet had faded away, leaving only the two of them in a battle of wills, waiting to see who would break first.
Han was the one to let up first. His shoulders dropped slightly, and his voice came quieter, almost careful.
“Surely you miss her,” he said. “I know you wanna see her again.”
Ben’s grip on the table tightened. “Stop pretending you understand what I think,” he snapped. His voice was raised now, sharper than he’d intended, but he didn’t care. “You’ve never understood me. None of you have. You all had these grand ideas about who I was supposed to be, and you were always wrong.”
Han held his ground, but his expression darkened. “I’m not pushing expectations on you. I just want you to talk to your mom again. Why is that such a big ask?”
The air between them went still, taut as a wire.
Ben could have lashed out. Could have said something cruel, something final. Instead, he shoved back his chair and stood abruptly, turning on his heel and walking out.
Not running. He wasn’t running.
His mind churned as he moved, racing through the next step, the next choice. Go back to the Falcon , like he’d said? No. That would only end one way. Maybe he should go with Finn, wherever he was headed. At least that would be something.
But before he could make any solid decisions, he felt a pull down a stairwell. He stopped in his tracks and looked down. Then suddenly, he heard the sound of a child crying out.
Unable to justify not helping, he slowly walked down the steps to where the voice was, but when he arrived in the room at the bottom of the steps, he saw no one. All that remained was a small, unassuming box set atop a couple crates.
He almost turned around to leave, thinking perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, but then he heard it again. It seemed almost as if the box was the source.
Against his better judgment, he took a step toward the crates and reached out to open it, revealing the unmistakable, and strangely familiar, shape of a lightsaber hilt. He reached out to pick it up, the moment he did, his head was filled with terrifyingly real visions.
A little girl screaming as she is ripped from her mother’s arms. The crack of a blaster bolt. Her father falling to the ground. Dead. The mother follows, leaving nothing but the girl’s blood chilling cries as she is taken away by the masked man.
“The Force surrounds us.”
Luke Skywalker holding his still wife in his arms. His face is blank. His eyes fixed on the burning Jedi temple. He does not cry. Not yet. His eyes burn with the light of the fire and something more.
“It binds the galaxy together.”
Ben at ten years old, staring up at the stars and dreaming of something far away and out of his reach.
Ben at twenty-three, staring at the datapad in his shaking hands. The truth about Anakin Skywalker burned into his mind forever.
Mara Jade Skywalker at the edge of his memory. Somehow she seems to fade as soon as he reaches for her.
“Let it flow through you.”
Leia’s arms around him, holding him like she could keep the whole galaxy out if she just held on tight enough.
Han’s voice calling his name from somewhere distant, always drifting.
The Millennium Falcon rising into the sky. His family and loved ones watch it leave in horror. He is running.
“Ben.”
Snow falling gently around him. His lightsaber buzzing in his hand. Fear seems to freeze the air as much as the snow.
Luke Skywalker staring at him, seemingly from across the galaxy.
“Ben, remember who you are.”
He is on the ground now. His breath ragged. His heart pounding.
A dark figure steps closer. Their feet make no sound even though the ground beneath them is covered in leaves and sticks.
He knows who it is. He has always known.
The crackling double-bladed red lightsaber ignites.
“It is time to stop running.”
His eyes snapped open and he was back in Maz Kanata’s cellar. He breathed deeply and tried to shake off the impact of the vision. Quiet footsteps approached Ben. He turned to see Maz herself standing over him.
Ben sat up on his knees, heart still pounding in his chest. His eyes flicked to the weapon beside him, its cold metal catching the dim light.
“My grandfather’s lightsaber.” The words left him in a breathless murmur, half a realization, half an accusation. His gaze snapped to Maz. “What’s going on here?”
“It called to you.”
Maz reached out her hand. Ben’s instinct was to pull back, but there was something about her steady, ancient, patient gaze that made him hesitate. Slowly, he placed his hand in hers. Her fingers were small and weathered, but they wrapped around his with a warmth that made him feel more exposed than comforted.
“I have to get away,” Ben whispered, but the words cracked at the edges. There was no conviction in them, only the hollow echo of something he’d been telling himself for years.
“I know you don’t want any part of the war. No one does.”
Her voice was gentle, but there was something sharp beneath it, like she was testing him. He scoffed under his breath, shaking his head as he looked away.
“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.” The admission hung between them, barely more than a breath, as if saying it out loud might break him apart.
Maz’s hand shifted, brushing against his cheek. Ben tensed, but she guided his face back to hers. He met her gaze reluctantly. It almost physically hurt to let someone see him.
“If you live long enough,” Maz said, her voice low and knowing, “you see the same eyes in different people.”
She slipped her goggles from her face, and Ben had the strange sensation that she was looking through him, past the anger, the fear, the walls he’d built so carefully.
“In your friend Finn’s eyes, I saw a man who wants to run. I see that in you too.” Her face softened, and something flickered in her expression that was unguarded in a way that made Ben’s stomach twist. “But I also see that you already know you have a place in this story. And it will be fully your own.”
Ben’s throat felt tight. He wanted to scoff again or crack some bitter joke, but all he could do was meet her eyes, pinned under the weight of something he didn’t want to name.
“It means I’ll have to face my past.” His voice was barely audible. “I’ve been running from it for so long… I’m not who I used to be.”
“The lightsaber called to you,” Maz said simply. “It was your grandfather’s, then your uncle’s… but now it is yours.”
Ben’s gaze flicked back to the weapon, an inheritance carved from blood and regret. Owned by Mara Jade Skywalker and Luke Skywalker before her, their fates remain unknown. Built by Anakin Skywalker, the ultimate traitor.
“There’s so much pain in its past,” he murmured.
Maz nodded slowly. “The past can hurt. But the way I see it… you can either run from it, or learn from it.”
Ben hated how much he wanted to believe her. How much he wanted to be someone who could learn.
Instead, he pushed to his feet so abruptly that Maz’s hand slipped from his. He took a step back, walls snapping back into place.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “But running is the only thing I’m good at.”
He turned on his heel and walked out swiftly.
Not running.
Not yet.
But already knowing he would. And as soon as he had the door, he did.
~
Eliana simmered with anger. She should have been with the Empress. Instead, she was forced to stand just behind Hux, the bastard.
At the last minute, she had been told to stay behind and retain her place as the ever-loyal aide of the General. All that meant was that she would not have the chance to fight by her Empress’ side at their moment of triumph.
To do with the Empress commanded was a truly noble task. And it should’ve been more than enough. But the feeling that her skills and expertise were better used anywhere else but underfoot of this arrogant womp rat in front of her was not easily shaken.
She didn’t even care about the mass rally or the emphatic speech from her false master. The so-called New Republic’s center of governance would soon be destroyed. That was certain. But where her help was actually needed was in the securing of the map.
“When this day is done, all remaining systems will bow to the Empire. And all will remember this as the last day of the last Republic!” Hux shouted, recapturing her attention.
How could he claim to care about the Empire when he refused to properly respect their Empress? He was a power-hungry snake to his core, and she loathed him.
As the blinding bright light of the weapon shot out into the distance to silence their enemies in the Republic’s Senate, Eliana reserved her hateful glare for one man alone
But he did not see her.
His eyes were fixed on the distant lights. The blaze of destruction, the glory he thought was his.
Eliana was just a shadow behind him. He was foolish enough to think that she belonged to him, like all the others.
It was better that way.
A man never had cause to fear his own shadow.
He would, if he knew it belonged to someone else.
One day, the Empress would no longer have need of him.
When that blessed day finally arrived, and it would , Eliana would put the blaster to his head herself.
It was not anger that made her imagine it. Not even hatred, though she felt that too. It was simply what he deserved.
She would watch him realize, in those final moments, that she had always been there at his side, just behind him, waiting.
The last thing he would see would be the shadow he had never bothered to fear.
~
Overwhelmed, physically drained, and mentally shattered, Ben finally came to a halt. Running had never solved anything. Besides, there was nowhere left to run, and he couldn’t escape himself.
The familiar electronic chirp of BB-8 caught his attention.
The droid rolled toward him, slowing as it approached, beeping with what could only be described as concern. Ben barely had the energy to acknowledge it.
“No,” he muttered, waving a hand weakly. “You have to go back.”
BB-8 beeped again, more insistently this time. Ben just shook his head, the weariness in his bones making him too tired to argue.
After a long moment, the droid seemed to reluctantly relent and rolled off, back through the trees to the castle Ben had abandoned just minutes ago.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. It was as though a pack of wolves was surrounding him from all sides. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as the Force pricked all his senses. Something, somewhere, was very, very wrong .
~
The crowd of visitors who had filtered out of the old castle now had their eyes locked on the sky. Han could see it too, the light that had appeared out of nowhere. A new star, bright enough to pierce through the daylight, drawing speculation from the onlookers. One of them tossed out the idea that a star had gone nova, but Han knew better. There weren’t any nearby white dwarfs in that section of the sky. The whole thing didn’t add up, and that unease he felt in his gut only grew the longer he stared.
With a deep sigh, Han reached into his pouch and pulled out the ponipin. He activated the device and aimed it at the strange light. A series of automated systems kicked in, linking to the Millennium Falcon’s stellar navigation equipment. The ponipin’s lens shifted, bringing up a real-time readout of the starfield in question. Data and statistics swirled on the screen, but they only deepened the pit in his stomach.
Before he could form a thought, the voice behind him confirmed his worst fear.
“It was the Republic. The Empire—they’ve gone and done it.”
Finn’s concerned eyes cut to him. “Where’s Ben?”
That was it. The shift in focus was immediate. Han’s thoughts snapped away from the strange light and onto the one person he couldn’t afford to lose track of.
“Thought he was with you!” he snapped, looking around.
Just then, a voice broke through the tension, familiar but sharper than he remembered. Han turned to see Maz striding toward them.
“You two, come with me. There’s something you must see.”
Without a word, they followed her into the castle’s subterranean corridors. Maz didn’t lead them to any part of the castle he’d expected. No, this was somewhere far less welcoming, and the air around it felt stiff and eerie.
They stopped in front of a door that creaked open to reveal a room drenched in shadows. Treasure was scattered throughout, but there was only one thing that caught Han’s attention: a box on a table in the distant dark. Han couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever was inside was more than just a relic.
Maz approached the box and removed a lightsaber. Finn’s eyes darted to it uncertainly, but even in the dim light, Han didn’t need to second-guess what he was seeing.
Mara’s lightsaber. The one that Luke had gifted to her. The one that had mattered so much to the family. Han’s heart dropped, and before he could think twice, he shot a demand at Maz.
“Where’d you get that?”
“A good question, for another time,” she said, annoyingly vague. But Han could admit deep down that the details were unimportant at the moment. He had to find his son and get the map to his wife.
Surprisingly, Maz handed the weapon not to Han, but to Finn, who stared at it with reverence and awe.
“Take it back to who it belongs,” she instructed him, “and may the force be with you.”
~
He heard the unmistakable sounds of ships and blaster fire overhead. The Empire had found them. He wasn’t about to go back and face them.
But then he realized something else. He was being followed. Ben froze, scanning his surroundings. The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, and to his horror, he saw stormtroopers moving through the trees. His pulse quickened as he silently backed up, trying to stay out of sight. But then his foot caught on a fallen tree trunk, sending him crashing to the ground.
He struggled to regain his footing, but in the chaos, he crashed into a tree root, knocking the air from his lungs. The pain was sharp, and for a few agonizing seconds, he couldn’t move. Long enough to know he had no chance of escaping.
Ben lay there, flat on the forest floor, the world spinning around him. Time seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Finally, he pushed himself up, propping himself on one arm, squinting through his hazy vision. The sound of footsteps grew closer. His fingers brushed the grip of his blaster, but he didn’t draw it yet. He just waited.
Then, a coldness washed over him, sharp and unmistakable. It was the dark side, an oppressive, sickening presence that made his heart race and his body tremble. He tried to push himself to his feet, but his legs screamed in protest. That pain wasn’t from the fall.
The leaves rustled, and the unmistakable sound of fabric billowing filled the air. Ben closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and let himself feel something he hadn’t in a long time.
When he opened his eyes again, a figure stood before him. A dark red dress and black cloak, both sweeping the ground. His gaze traveled upward, taking in the haunting frame. Her face was painted white with dark lines masking the contours of her features. And then, the eyes, those horrible yellow eyes that burned through him, making his stomach drop. Whatever beauty there may have been in face was completely consumed by those eyes.
Ben’s breath hitched, his mind reeling. The presence was unmistakable. He knew who she was.
Ben’s fingers curled around the grip of his blaster, but before he could even lift it, an unseen force ripped the weapon from his grasp and flung it into the brush. His breath caught as the Empress stepped forward, slow and deliberate.
“Oh, if it isn’t the famous Ben Solo,” she said with mock humor, yellow eyes glinting beneath the pale mask. “Or rather… the son of the famous.”
Ben’s heart pounded in his ears. His blaster still lay in the dirt where she had swatted it away. It was as if the world was frozen, it almost surprised him when he exhaled that he couldn’t see his breath for how cold the air felt.
He realized he was frozen in place when he tried to move away again. She was holding him there. That must have been why it felt like the dark side of the Force was enveloping him, threatening to drown him in its blood-dark depths.
He tried to speak, but the words never made it past his throat. He did not think that was from the Force, just fear.
Then he became aware that she was circling him like a predator. Physically, yes, he could hear the swish of her skirts rustling across the ground near his body. But also mentally. She was in his mind, searching. He tried to guard himself the way he had been taught so many years ago at Luke’s Jedi school, but he was weak. She broke through his pitiful defenses with ease.
“It seems I do not need the droid anymore, you’ve seen the map. No sense searching for it,” she murmured, and there was a bit too much dark glee in her tone for his taste. “And it seems like you are a bonus prize. A wealth of information in this mind of yours… and so much potential. You are strong in the Force, indeed, but you are out of practice. I can help you regain your power, as well as give you abilities you have never dreamed of before.”
He realized what she meant to do. She was going to take him prisoner. He had to do something, he had to get away by any means necessary.
He struggled against her, tried to push back, but it was no use. He was trapped. She had him.
“Yes,” she mused, almost to herself. “You are the heir of Lord Vader. You may just be what I have been looking for this whole time.”
And with that final, chilling sentiment, she waved her hand over his head so he could see her.
And the world went black.