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The room was dead silent, the only sound being the muffled noises of those outside the door. Biting your lip in concentration you tapped your fingers against the table, your eyes focused on the holopad laying in the center of it. The briefing of your mission was still hanging in the air, your answer had yet to be confirmed. For once you were actually unsure about going along with Leia. You were most certainly her best advisor and the best person for the job, however with the galaxy growing increasingly unstable and dark you were uneasy about walking into a system that was suspiciously untouched, yet active. Almost everyone knew about Dagobah, how could they not? The history was vast, the significance was deep. It was a magical sort of place, a place untouched by the galaxies forces, miraculously for all this time. Which made the sudden surge of force energy emitting from it all the more suspicious. Was the lack of activity causing this energy to build, or had something new emerged from the swampy terrain? You weren’t sure, but Leia was determined to take you along on her mission to find out. If something powerful was able of being in the Resistance’s grip, no one was about to turn it down.
“Well (Y/N)…I need an answer in order to carry out the mission.”
Sighing you finally brought your eyes back up to meet Leia’s, Poe sitting a few seats down from her. Both were watching you intently, Poe biting his lip in concentration while Leia kept her expression a blank canvas. Sitting up straighter, you crossed your arms over the table as you leaned forward.
“If this will truly help the Resistance…then count me in.”
Leia smiled as she nodded to you from across the table.
“It most certainly will, I really couldn’t do it without you (Y/N).”
You shrugged with a smile, “Couldn’t do much of anything here without you General.”
With a loud clap Poe stood from his chair, moving closer behind Leia so he was in your direct line of sight.
“Alright, we have a smaller freighter available for us to get there. Considering just how murky and untouched that swamp is we’ll want a lighter load.”
Poe reached over the table and pulled up a new image on the holopad, of Dagobah and all its necessary information.
“If you look here to the center left of the planets surface, that is where we have traced the best possible location to land. It’s also where the highest volume of this energy is emitting from. No one can tell the exact coordinates of it, but its in this general area.”
Leia nodded as she looked up to Poe standing at her side.
“Alright, and what time will we be planning to land in this location?”
“From the research we’ve collected it seems to be the most practical to make our venture there during late night hours. Something about that energy emission gets clearer in the night. We have yet to discover why though.”
You arched a brow, “Yet to discover?”
“Well…nobody really knows what it is. It could be anything, a stone, a small body of water, a machine…a grave…a living force user. That’s why we’re taking a small team.”
Slowly you brought your eyes back to the blinking coordinate where your landing was projected. You were always prepared to help the Resistance and Leia, but this mission was so vague and mysterious, it gave you a sort of eerie feeling. A feeling as though someone was breathing down your neck, waiting. As your eyes found Leia again however, you knew she wanted nothing more than your sincere support and intelligence. She was getting desperate to save the galaxy and this could be her shot.
Sighing you nodded once, “We’ll prepare to depart in 3 hours.”
Leia smiled at you as she returned your short nod.
“Wonderful.”
After the 3 hours had passed you made your way to the landing dock, awaiting the small crew to assemble. Tapping your foot to the cement ground underneath you, you released a deep breath. This was like so many other missions you had been called onto, but it was also a stark contrast in its own sense. It was more of a mystery than a set objective. Dagobah was not like other planets you had visited, it was a mystical sort of place that your parents had told you many stories about. Uninhabited, yet crawling with life. Murky and foggy, yet beautiful. It was a living contradiction.
“Hey (Y/N)!”
You turned to see Poe approaching you with a wide smile across his face.
“Ready to get this show on the road?”
“Yeah I’ve been ready, where’s the rest of the team?”
“They’re coming, just collecting their last supplies.”
Smirking at Poe you crossed your arms over your chest, taking a few steps to make sure you were standing in front of him.
“Is uh…Jessika by chance on this mission?”
Poe smirked back at you, “Yeah, why do you ask?”
You shrugged, seating yourself on one of the larger crates.
“I don’t know just curious. Seems like ever since you two found out you were soulmates and all that, you haven’t left each others side since. Finding a lot of loopholes in your missions, lots of ‘coincidental’ schedule similarities.”
Poe smiled, looking off into the distance a little, as if dreaming about Jessika. It was surely one of the days you had seen your friend at his happiest, and was definitely a celebration you wouldn’t forget. The moment their hearts had started glowing, you could see it in their eyes, the mixture of relief of finally finding each other, the shock of how suddenly it occured between them and the bubbling excitement of what was to come for them. Their celebration surely reflected that excitement as the whole Resistance came together for them.
“I mean, I don’t want to sound like a parent or some older sibling, but you wouldn’t understand it until you’ve experienced it.”
You scoffed, “Dameron please. I doubt I ever would.”
Poe looked over to you on the crate, his brows furrowing. His expression looked exactly like he had described himself a moment ago, like a concerned older brother.
“Don’t talk like that (Y/N). For all you know you could meet them tomorrow.”
“Doubt it.”
He shook his head as he just barely rolled his eyes at you. Being as positive as he was, Poe tried to not engage in your sometimes cynical outlook on love in this galaxy.
“Trust me (Y/N), once you experience it…nothing will be the same.”
You stood again, keeping your arms crossed as you shook your head at him now.
“If you insist. …but I am happy for you guys.”
Poe smiled as he lightly patted your shoulder, “I know you are.”
He walked past you, picking up one of the smaller crates, turning back to you with a smile.
“And I’ll be happy when it happens for you.”
You rolled your eyes, “You’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
He laughed as he nudged his head to the side.
“Come on, lets get set up for the trip. We’ve got quite a ways to fly.”
Nodding you picked up a duffle bag he had left outside the ship, following closely behind him up the ship’s ramp.
Turning off a few flashing switches, Poe glanced over the console once more before he turned to face you and Leia. Turning himself around in his seat he leaned in, as if about to reveal a secret.
“Alright everyone, we’re clear. Landing ground should be firm enough to leave the ship here. Jessika and I will stay in here to communicate with you over your commlinks, the signal will be clearer from in here. (Y/N), just like your briefing you’re to stay close to General Organa unless ordered otherwise on her command. Everybody clear?”
The 4 of you nodded in response to Poe as he returned the gesture with a grin.
“We meet back here in 30.”
Hitting a small control on the console, the ships ramp lowered for you and Leia as you both stood from your seats. Upon landing on the planet, you almost felt more at ease, as if your body sensed it was supposed to be here. It didn’t calm your flurry of thoughts of what would be out there, scenario after scenario playing in your mind. As the ramp finally fell silent you peered out to see the tall and lanky green trees surrounding you. Their roots almost as tall as you curling into the murky water and terrain. Vines hung down from all around the perimeter, around the trees, to the ground, or hovering above you. Taking a few steps forward, you scanned the perimeter just outside the ship, seeing no life present but instead a layer of fog laid atop the ground, only revealing patches of scattered leaves.
“Good luck out there guys.”
Both you and Leia turned to Poe and Jessika with a short nod as you cautiously made your way out of the ship. The younger male recruit who had been brought along with you as back-up followed closely, his eyes darting in almost every direction possible as he made his way to the flat ground with you. Just from watching him you could sense he was nervous about being here at these darker hours, likely scared of what he would come into contact with. Leia made her way in front of both of you, cautiously taking steps forward as the leaves crunched underneath her boots. Focusing all her energy on the task at hand she gestured a hand to you as she made her way to the left.
“It’s this way.”
Closely following her footfalls you kept your attention on the floor beneath you. Though Leia was obviously cautious, the unpredictable terrain of Dagobah could leave you falling through a hole, tumbling into a small home of a predator or sinking into the expansive marsh. You were not going to cost her the mission with a rush or with a lack of attentiveness. This had to go over smoothly. Within another couple of dozen feet you suddenly hit Leia’s back. Stablising your footing again as you finally looked up. Leia had stopped in front of a rather small opening to a cave, the round structure leading to a pitch black path, one that was obviously untouched. The ground, from what you could see, was still covered in the same leaves and soil as the ground where your feet stood now.
“I can feel it…it’s coming from inside here.”
Peering inside from over Leia’s shoulder you narrowed your eyes, trying as best as you could to distinguish anything in front of you. There was nothing about it that seemed to scream at you to turn away, but you knew places like this were suspicious.
“I’ll lead General. It’s better assurance of your safety.”
“(Y/N), I surely can handle myself. You do remember who I am don’t you?”
You chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow at you.
“Yes General I know, I was thinking more along the lines of giving you a break for once.”
She shrugged, “If you want to.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Smiling at her you carefully walked forward. As your eyes looked down into the seemingly endless tunnel of darkness. With a sigh, you nodded to yourself as you made your way in. The air instantly changed once you were inside the dark tunnel. The humidity seemed to disipate, and was instead replaced with lighter and far cooler air. There was no moving circulation of air, but this space obviously had it’s secrets from the instant change of atmosphere it had.
“This way.”
With your heart beating into your eardrums you made your way slowly into the small cave as your eyes adjusted to the dark surroundings. It was shockingly quiet for a planet that was supposed to be crawling with so many different creatures. There wasn’t a croak, shuffle, howl or chirp from anywhere nearby. Either everything here was somehow not nocturnal, or something had scared them all off to another location. The leaves crunching softly under your weight were the only sound that could be heard, that and the heavy breaths from the young recruit. If anything was going to jump out and attack you it would likely be because of him and his nerves. Slowly releasing a breath you took a few more cautious steps forward.
“Something’s up there.”
Leia’s voice was extremely soft, and held a tone of caution from behind you. You couldn’t see her expression but you were sure it was nothing short of concern. She wouldn’t dare tell you, but she was wary of this whole venture, despite the possible reward it could contain. This eerie setting, the hauntingly quiet atmosphere and random force presence made it all the more suspicious.
Nodding you just barely spoke over your shoulder, “I’ll go ahead.”
Feeling the heat of Leia and the recruit retreat from your back, you took your cautious steps forward. The leaves crunching were still soft and the presence of any other sound was ceasing even further. Gulping you decided to reach into your pocket to find a match or lighter. If you were going to be the brave soul walking into the unknown, you at least needed to see what you were getting into. Gently reaching into your pocket you felt the cold metal against your finger tips as you grabbed a hold of the small lighter. Slipping it into your hand you heard Leia whisper behind you again.
“(Y/N) wait.”
With a small flick of your thumb you lit the lighter, igniting a small but visible flame to illuminate your path. Looking down to the ground you sighed with relief, there were no gaping holes in the soil as you had feared. As your eyes roamed back up however, your heart stopped as a drastic gasp left your lips. The last flicker of flame before you dropped and extinguished your lighter, caught light of some very familiar silver decals standing mere inches from you. Your frightened reflection looking back at you from the metal. As you took steps back you reached for your blaster as quickly as you could manage, firing a shot of red towards the figure. The blast however suspended in air, freezing in its tracks as you heard the light squeaking of leather behind the humming of the frozen shot.
Your breaths quickly started growing more urgent as you felt yourself locking into place, not from the force, but from fear. You had yet to hear any positive stories about this infamous figure and you were sure this was likely going to be the last thing you saw if you tried shooting again. His broad figure unsheething that infamous saber to cut you down. From the shadows of the cave the figure slowly came closer to you, the frozen blast illuminating his brooding figure. His shoulders were held stiff as he took slow strides closer to you. The heat of anxiety was rising up through your neck and into your face as he moved his gaze towards you. Small beads of sweat were slowly starting to form on your brows.
Suddenly however as his visor beheld you, he clutched onto his chest. As if the blast had suddenly went through his chest, his masked gaze looked down to the center of his chest, some inaudible sound like a gasp escaped the mask in the same instance. He sounded shocked, concerned all of a sudden. As if on que, you also released a sudden gasp of impact, clutching one hand onto your heart. With no warning or foreshadowing the center of your chest suddenly felt as though it were aflame. Feeling the heat through your garments you quickly tried ripping through some of the fabric to reveal it to the cold air of the cave. The fabric quietly ripped under your strained pull when you suddenly heard a hiss not too far from you, followed by a thud against the delicate leaves. Bringing your eyes up you were stunned by the view in front of you. The Kylo Ren had removed his mask, mimicking your actions so similarly as he desperately tried ripping through the fabric of his robes. Upon his growing frustration he ripped off his leather gloves, discarding them to the leafy soil, as he resorted back to trying to open a part of the tethered fabric over his chest. Your fists suddenly fell loose in their grip as you realized you had successfully ripped open a patch of fabric. Bringing your eyes back to yourself you slowly looked down to where the heat was eminating from. Your eyes grew as wide as saucers as they took in the view on your own person. Beneath the (Y/S/C) skin of your chest, there was a dull glow shining through. Your heart was glowing through your flesh. Furrowing your brows you pondered for a moment.
But that means…
Looking up once again you saw as the mop of raven hair finally tore open a small patch of fabric over his chest, sighing with relief as he finally felt some of the cold air hit his flesh. He too looked down at the fabric only to furrow his brows. His pale skin was also glowing. More precisely, the skin over his own heart. Your throat started constricting as you could feel your heart start to pound against your ribs. The sounds of every pulse echoing into your eardrums with aggression. The anxiety was peaking as your mind started running miles a minute. This is what had happened when Poe and Jessika finally met. Poe and Jessika were soulmates. The only presence that could incite this reaction from your chest had to be in your proximity. It had to be someone you had never crossed before, seeing as this had never happened before. There was only one new presence in this cave. One that was undeniably experiencing the same phenomenon.
“No…no, no, no, no that can’t be. That can’t be possible.”
Finally meeting your eyes you saw the intense and perplexed gaze of Kylo’s brown orbs take you in. Upon seeing the glow from your chest illuminating in the cave, his plump lips parted. Looking to his own chest again you watched as he brought a shaking hand up to it, cautiously touching the spot. With a finger rested to the glowing flesh he looked up to you again. Before you could stop yourself you felt tears forcing themselves past your lashes as your limbs started to mildly shake.
“No! This is a trick of the force! You’re doing this on purpose!”
Kylo shook his head slowly, still keeping his brows furrowed.
“This is no capability I possess.”
Your (Y/E/C) eyes were now stinging, the tears growing more rapid as you felt it impossible to look away from the glow illuminating from Kylo’s black robes. It was a disturbingly beautiful contrast to see. You started shaking your head, your bottom lip quivering. “Stars no…no.” From behind you the sound of crunching leaves grew louder as you suddenly heard the familiar soft voice of Leia approach.
“You’re…you’re soulmates.”
You shook your head as you forced your eyes shut, hoping to the stars and every living being in the force that this was a nightmare. By some stroke of luck Leia would shake you awake and you’d be in your quarters, or simply pulled out of this haze. The pounding in your chest and the tears you were releasing however, made it more than real. Not to mention the undeniable warmth emitting from the center of your chest in the dark cave.
“No, no, no he can’t be my soulmate. No. No!”
Crumbling to the ground, your knees gave out as you fell to the soil, gripping onto clumps of your (Y/H/C) locks with desperation. You weren’t sure what you were hoping would happen with this reaction, but certainly you wanted this whole scenario to fade, to simply wake up back in your quarters, untouched, unmoved. Maybe if you pulled at your own hair long enough you would be shaken out of this dream. By some strain of your stress you would be relieved of this scenario.
“Please Leia, please tell me this is some mistake.”
Your forcefully shut eyes couldn’t see her shake her head but you felt the soft graze of her hand on your shoulder, just barely rubbing your shoulder pad.
“The force makes no mistake with soulmates (Y/N).”
Falling further onto the ground you felt the sobs start to rack through your body.
“No…no.”
From in front of you, you heard the leaves start rustling again as Kylo’s heavy boots moved forward. With an aggressive motion the male recruit pulled a blaster from his uniform as he moved closer to Leia.
“STAY BACK!! I’LL SHOOT!!”
You felt Leia’s hand abruptly leave your shoulder.
“No don’t shoot! This isn’t the time! Stand down.”
You could hear his ragged breaths as he stood over you both, taking a few hesitant steps backward. You were too far curled into yourself to see what was happening, too engulfed in fear and anger. The reality of the situation was sinking into you more like a knife than a peaceful revelation. The legend was far too well known, you couldn’t deny what it said. It was told to you time and time again. Not one soul in the galaxy had a story that contradicted the legend. As cynical as you could be you knew it was undeniably true. When the force willed for two souls to be together, it would make room for no leniancy or exceptions. Even if the atmosphere had to shift, what was meant to be, would eventually come to be. The force was relentless and unforgiving in that way. The many times you had heard that legend however, you never expected the force to be so cruel to you. How could the force possibly be responsible for making this man your soulmate? An unseen entity that was supposed to be the power of good, the one thing that connected every living being, had willed for this for you. The man you were working to kill and bring to justice everyday at the Resistance, was supposedly your soulmate. Kylo’s deep, unaltered voice broke the tense silence that had fallen over the 4 of you.
“General…step away from her and let us speak.”
“No Leia please don’t leave! Please! Please don’t leave me with him! Please I’m begging you!”
Leia brought a comforting hand back to you as your head lifted from the ground once again. Bloodshot and glistening your eyes met Leia’s as you could see just how conflicted she was watching you. Had you any sensitivity to the force, you would have likely not only felt but heard her heart shatter looking between you and her son. You were obviously broken over this, and more than distraught. Your fear and discontent were palpable and rolling off of you. The expression across your features and the sheer glint of horror in your eyes only made it worse for her. The man you were sobbing over being your destined soulmate however was her son. A man that no matter what he did, she always deeply in her own self loved. She only held a mothers love for him, and it was amazingly unconditional. Through their bond in the force she could feel his inner most feelings as well. He too was conflicted, and so deeply confused over the whole matter. He wasn’t so eager to have a soulmate, yet in the same instance he didn’t want them to take you away from him. In fact he was anxiously awaiting Leia’s response to the matter, afraid she would pry you away from him for good.
“Leia please.”
“I won’t leave you (Y/N), but you two need to speak.”
“W-what?”
Before you could protest she moved away from you, taking steps back as you heard those heavy boots make their way towards you. Suddenly as your gaze retreated from Leia you saw the dark figure crouch down in front of you. Forcing your eyes shut again you felt a new surge of tears come on as a strong hand gripped onto your chin. The warmth of his palm engulfed your jawline.
“Look at me.”
You shook your head, trying with all your might to keep your eyes sealed shut.
“Look at me!”
Releasing a wavering sigh you slowly opened your eyes, your vision still blurred by all the tears that continued to flow out. The blurry figure of Kylo brought his face closer to yours as his bare hand continued to grip onto your chin. As the tears finally dried enough for you to see, you could see his focused gaze. His deep brown eyes were locked onto you, not flinching or moving even slightly. With a sniffle you swallowed, trying to remain still in fear of what he’d do. Likely with his dedication to the dark side he’d kill you off. His grip on your chin slowly started to loosen the longer he looked at you, his face no longer scrunching into an expression of anger. What perplexed you however was the slowly building feeling you had inside while looking at him. Something about this interaction was slowly turning pleasant.
“…You’re my soulmate. You couldn’t change this fate even if you tried.”
“Please no.”
Your voice sounded more like a whimper now as you could slowly feel your defenses melting away. Something about looking into his eyes and being this close was changing your perception. You wanted to fight it, but with the warm feeling eminating through your chest, you weren’t sure if you truly wanted it to cease. It was welcoming, in a strange sort of way.
“Like it or not…the force has chosen us to be soulmates.”
“No.”
“We are soulmates…we’re destined to be.”
Your voice was almost lower than a whisper, “No.”
“Fight it all you want…but you know the truth.”
From behind you, you could hear the male recruit’s frantic behavior start rustling the leaves beneath his feet once again.
“General Organa we’ve already been here too long, just leave them-”
“Officer I suggest you remember your place on this mission.”
“But General-”
“The boy has a point,” suddenly something about his deep voice became soothing to you.
Were you being hypnotized by this man? How was your fear suddenly morphing into these positive reactions. Your fear was still vaguely present, but your repulsion had amazingly ceased.
“…I’ll let you take the force stone…the source of all of that mysterious energy…in exchange for her.”
Had you both not suddenly been pulled into this inexplainable trance you would have likely screamed at the top of your lungs and tried begging Leia and the recruit to not even dare think of such a preposition. Your mind was however going into a different sort of realm. From the look on Kylo’s face, you were sure he felt the same. He was not regarding you as simply the enemy. If you read the glimmer in his eyes correctly, he too was entranced.
“(Y/N)..”
“I…I don’t want to stay.”
Kylo smirked as he now ran the hand gripping your chin down your neck gently, sending a ripple of goosebumps down your flesh.
“We wouldn’t stay here…I’d take you to my home.”
“(Y/N).”
“General please I must insist we leave, fate has already decided for her.”
Suddenly feeling a pull you peered behind you to look at Leia. Her expression was obviously distressed, her lips parted, her eyes solemn. Feeling a single tear slip down your cheek again you shook your head.
“…I don’t know what to do…”
Leia looked between the two of you, desperately trying to pick a route that would lead to the best decision. Nothing however, in that moment felt like it was the right decision. The endless stories of the pain and nightmares people suffered when torn away from their soulmates were endless. The pain was not only mental, but physically deep within those effected. The overwhelming heat from the glowing hearts would grow cold, stiff and rigged, if she tore you away from him. But she would be tearing you away from Kylo Ren. At the same time, Kylo was her son. She shook her head.
“(Y/N)…I…I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Leave her with me…you’ve already taken enough from me. Let me have this.”
His tone was cold and harsh, yet oddly protective in nature. Had anyone else heard it they would tell you he was being selfishly possessive, but something about it felt right to you. Leia looked to you again.
“(Y/N)…what do you want?”
Feeling your tears surge again, your lip quivered. You knew what you had set out to do, but with this unexpected change, you weren’t sure what you truly wanted. Your heart was obviously making a case for itself, the glow still illuminating to match Kylo’s. Your mind however was in absolute shambles. Your words didn’t make sense, your coorelations no longer appearing relevant, everything seemed to be clashing ferociously against each other, as if sense and instinct couldn’t come to an agreement. Your train of thought was an absolute wreck. Feeling yourself shake again, you couldn’t control your quivering lip as the words tumbled off of your tongue.
“To stay.”
Her brows raised as her mouth fully hung open. The male recruit ignored your entire interaction moving past Kylo, who was still admiring you, and quickly grabbed the dense glittering stone from behind him. As he took his steps back to Leia she tilted her head, her eyes growing even more solemn as she felt your conflicted aura.
“(Y/N).”
“…If it helps the Resistance…and is my destiny…then so be it.”
Before she could say anything further the recruit gripped onto her arm and walked her out of the cave, still aiming his blaster at Kylo.
“The Resistance won’t forget your sacrifice (Y/N).”
The recruit, though he had been indifferent to you the whole mission, sounded especially repulsed by this spectical. To say the least acknowledging that Kylo Ren even possessed a heart, let alone one capable of attaining a soulmate made him question just about everything in this galaxy. As he backed away, taking the same dark and eerie route you had taken in you could hear Leia lightly gasp. Realizing she was in fact leaving you here. She simply stared at you as her shocked expression faded into the darkness, making her only a silouhette to your naked eye within seconds. The sounds of crunching leaves grew softer and softer as you could no longer hear their footfalls. The sounds of heavy breathing had almost completely ceased, aside from the warm soft breath hitting your earlobe from Kylo, like a wave hitting the shore. As you realized Leia and the recruit had officially disappeared back to the ship, you felt the tears surge forward again, racking your body once again. You had in fact sealed your fate. You sacrificed for the good of the Resistance, and yet you had sacrificed in a way you never thought plausible. Carefully a rough thumb glided under your eyelid as you heard a shushing sound close to your ear. With the gentlest touch you were sure he had ever attempted, Kylo brought your gaze back to him. His warm brown eyes barely visible under the red illumination from the frozen blaster shot.
“…Fate has willed it…you’re mine.”