Star Wars: Son of Skywalker | Book II: The Last Jedi

Chapter XXX: Peace and Purpose

Luke collapsed to the stone that he hovered above as he struggles to climb back on it. The sunset gleamed over the island, giving it an orange aura, as Luke began calling for his son. Luke knew it was time.

Jacen decided to help Chewbacca with the controls, as he then senses something. Something he never thought would happen, as a tear begins to fall from his face.

Rey tries to help everyone board the Falcon as they run up the ramp, ready to help them all escape, but then she senses something sad, coming from the island. She turned to General Leia, who sensed it too, as she and Rey look at each other. Not only did Rey think about Luke and how she and him got through a rough start, but she also thought about Jacen, knowing that he wouldn't take it well, but she felt something about Luke, it wasn't sadness at all, it felt fulfilling and peaceful.

Jacen closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping to connect with his father, trying to start another force bond with him, he had to help him. Once he feels like he connected his mind with his, he finds himself in a cave, as if he were back on Ahch To, Luke pulled him here so he could see his father, trying to climb over a rock so he could sit on it.

"Father!" Jacen yelled, running to his father as fast as he can to help his father, as he helps him climb over the rock, as he sits on it, looking at the horizon.

"Jacen..." Luke spoke out of exhaustion. "What are you doing here?" He asked exhaustingly.

"Just hold on, we're coming to get you Alright?" Jacen spoke.

"Don't." Said Luke, as Jacen begins to feel scared. "My Journey is complete, please leave me."

"No, no don't say that, we can still save you." Said Jacen out of sadness.

"You already have Jacen." Said Luke, wiping the tears from his son's face. "You and Rey...you both were right about me...tell her...that she was right." Said Luke, as he and Jacen see the sunset in the sky with clouds moving out of the way, revealing another sunset, a twin sunset, as Luke watches it, remembering the time on Tatooine, as he watches it with his son.

"Goodbye Father." Said Jacen in sadness.

" ...goodbye son." Said Luke watching it for the last few seconds as his body disappears, becoming one with the Force, Jacen could see his Jedi robe fall to the stone and begin to fly away through the wind. Jacen watches the sunset a little longer as he begins to wake up back in the cockpit of the Falcon, with tears in his eyes, ready to help make the escape.

Kylo and his men march across the base, as they walk to where the Rebels used to be. They all spilt up as they search for any remaining Rebels to take prisoner. Kylo walks into a room with only a few men as he sees a gold pair of dice lying on the ground. He bends down and picks it up, knowing that his father used these to win that infamous ship. As he looks at the dice, and looks up, feeling another connection coming in.

Rey watches the last of them run inside as she tells them to hurry, but she feels another connection, she saw Ben on his knees, looking at her as he didn't want her to leave. They stare at each other one last time as she closes the boarding ramp, ending the connection, knowing that he already made his choice.

Kylo watches her disappear as he looks at the dice as it also disappears from his hand, as he tightly closes his fist with the feeling of defeat in his mind.

"When there is an equal...there must alway be a balance..." Said the voice of Snoke, echoing in his head, as if it were a ghost haunting him for the rest of his life.

The Falcon flies away from the planet, as everyone met in the main corridor of the ship, What was left of the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down. Chewbacca already set it to auto pilot so they wouldn't worry about crashing. Jacen could see Chewbacca and Leia reuniting, hugging each other. He could also see C-3PO and R2 reuniting after two or three days of separation. Even Rey and BB-8 reunited after a while. Everyone celebrated being alive and surviving the attack of the First Order. Jacen on the other hand, just sat on the crates as if they were a bench as he just sat there with nobody to talk to, all he could think about was the sunset on Ahch To, The very last time he saw his father. He took a deep breath, remembering his father as if he were still here, but the more he thinks about it, the more he could sense his sacrifice, knowing that it means something to him now.

BB-8 chirps as he tells Rey about the new antenna he got after the last time he saw her.

"It looks good." Said Rey, as she stood before a stranger, who looked like he was about to talk to her.

"Hi." He said as he smiled." "I'm Poe."

"Rey." She said, shaking his hand.

"I know." Said Poe, as they smile at each other.

As Jacen sat there, he could see Rey, walking towards him, holding both halves of what remained of her lightsaber. She sat down, seeing that he's still thinking about what he saw.

"Are you alright?" Rey asked.

"...I don't know." Said Jacen, as a hurricane of mixed feelings surrounded him. Rey then sees Finn open one of the drawers to find something to cover someone who was lying on the mediacal bed on the wall of the Falcon. He looks past the sacred texts that Rey brought from the island and pulls out her poncho and covers her with it like a blanket. She then sees Leia sit next to the two of them.

"Luke is gone, I felt it." She said to Leia, looking down at the loss of her brother, as Jacen briefly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "But it wasn't out of sadness or pain. It was...peace and purpose."

"I felt it too." Said Leia, understanding what Rey feels. Jacen then begins to agree with what Rey is saying, but he was still saddened.

"How do we build a rebellion from this?" Asked Rey, looking at the very few surviving members as Leia lays her hand down on Rey's.

"We have hope." Said Jacen, finally understanding. "A force that is powerful enough to fight back." He said, knowing that his father died for hope. "We're going to need it, now more than ever."

"We have everything we need." Said Leia, as the Falcon flies through the lightspeed tunnel, flying across the stars at the speed of light. Even in the darkest of times, hope is the only thing you can believe in.