Dawn of a new Force

Chapter 46 - The gray way.

She was advancing cautiously, yet without stopping, in the middle of a thick mist that seemed to have appeared suddenly. She had not noticed it at first, much too busy following the whispers she did not understand. A hypnotic background noise that made her lose any other purpose than to find their origin.

She did not hear Ben call her several times. She was omnubilated by these voices she sensed arose from the past. Thus she finally realized that she could not distinguish anything except her feet, and was seized with anguish. She was lost. She found that she had not followed the down stairs to the village. She was in the middle of nowhere, without a marker. And she ended up sitting, paralyzed, hearing nothing and seeing nothing.

And suddenly, passed in front of her a shadow. She got up quickly, grabbed her sword but did not activate it. She followed the shadow that was walking past her, and froze as it turned around.

- No, she murmured.

In front of her, was Rey. She saw herself, dressed in the traditional Sith dress, smiling at her.

- You made your choice, told her her double.

- No! She shouted.

- You did it a long time ago. You have chosen to bind yourself to another, you are afraid of losing him, only the dark side can allow you to protect him.

- No! I have nothing in common with the dark side!

- You still have so much anger in you! You draw of it all your control of the Force. Look for yourself in Rey, it has always existed, and you can not make it disappear.

Rey flanked ... it was true. Her double knew her better than anyone. She knew her darkest secrets.

- Accept your destiny, and you will become the most powerful Sith that the Galaxy has ever known.

Her double closed her eyes and Rey saw on her face like flames as she showed her fate on the dark side.

- You will have all the power for you. You can rule the galaxy and you will never be anyone! Your name will be known and venerated by all, and all will desire you. They will do what you dictate to them and never again will the war reign.

But Rey did not feel the presence of Ben Solo at her side in this possible future. She took a step back.

- What will become of him?

- He is nothing compared to what you will be. He will serve you, but he is not destined to reign. Rey, we are the descendants of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man who triumphed over Anakin Skywalker. We do not need him! Let's get rid of him!

Rey was tempted for a second, but she turned her back on her dark double. No, she did not want to rule. No, she did not want to deny Ben. She loved him, and that feeling took over. But here in front of her, there appeared another Rey. Rey was now wearing the traditional Jedi dress, the beige kimono and the brown bure. She had her bright double under the eyes.

- Rey, by refusing the dark side you make a choice. That of the luminous way. But you must give up all the temptations on the dark side, you have to detach yourself from Ben.

- I do not want!

- Love is a noble feeling but will lead you to your loss. Rey, you have no choice. We must continue alone.

Rey collapsed, tears running down her cheeks as she was on her knees in front of her double.

- We will restore peace in the galaxy by fighting the dark side. Freedom must triumph Rey. We are the only hope left to the Resistance.

- But I'll be alone ... I should fight, it will be the war again ...

- Rey you have no other choice. Since the Force has awakened, it has invested you with a destiny that you must fulfill.

Rey stood for a moment, letting her tears flow. Then an idea came to her. A possibility that her ancestors had brought her. And Maz. She stopped crying, dried her tears with a corner of her sleeve, and got up. The two "Rey" had disappeared. She realized that she had learned tonight that she would never make a choice. None of the paths open to her suited her. She wanted to take another path, a new path that few people had taken. But among these people, there was precisely his grandfather. And she would walk in his footsteps.

On this thought, she observed that the mist was beginning to dissipate, giving way to the dark night. How long had this episode lasted? She looked up at the starry sky, and when her eyes fell to the ground, she saw Ben approaching her. He looked tired and worried.

- What happened? he asked her.

- I do not know, she admitted. I think the Force had something to show me. I saw ... whatever, you would not understand.

- Anything, did it help you?

She took a moment to think about it. Had it influenced her, or simply helped to make a decision? No. It had helped her, however, to become aware of something that was sleeping in her, a choice already made, a destiny to follow.

- Yes.

She saw that Ben was expecting more.

- You told me it was time to make a choice. Well, here it is: I will not make a choice.

Ben raised an eyebrow, taken aback by Rey's evasive answer. She continued.

- I will not be able to follow one of the ways, say, classics ... I want to create my way. I'm not just bright, Ben. I also have a part of my being on the dark side ...

- I noticed, he said calmly, in his own way, to speak little but well.

- I do not want to give up either one or the other. I choose a gray path. But I will put it at the service of a cause that counts more than anything for me. And ... I choose you, only you.

Ben was surprised by this statement. It was spontaneous, fresh, so frank. He did not really know what it would imply, but for the moment he had a sweet certainty. That of continuing on the road to Rey, side by side.

Rey resumed her stuff, then began to descend to the village she saw in the moonlight. She passed Ben who followed her. Arrived at the village, they entered the chosen hut. He took her face in his hands and was about to kiss her when they heard a series of beeps that Rey recognized immediately.

She turned her head towards the entrance of the stone house, and saw a robot appearing, tumbling at full speed, which she recognized immediately.

- BB-8!