A New Beginning // reylo

4. Our First Steps

"Rey, we're almost there." Ben said softly, gently shaking Rey to wake her up.

"Yep, I'm up!" Rey said, jumping in her seat. Ben chuckled and went back to the controls, ready to jump out of hyperspace. The ship came out of light speed, planet Ilum coming into full view.

"Woah," Rey breathed as she looked at the dim planet. The atmosphere seemed cloudy all around, so the surface wasn't visible from space. But there were many pockets of soft, colorful glows that illuminated the clouds from underneath. Ben flew the ship into the atmosphere, which was extremely stormy and caused a lot of turbulence. Though once they were passed the clouds, it was perfectly clear all around. Snow fell from the sky, slowly and softly, creating this peaceful scenery around them. In the distance, Rey could make out the ruins of an ancient temple.

"There, that's where we need to land." Rey pointed at the ruins. She got up from her seat and walked out of the cockpit, preparing for landing. Looking around the ship, Rey found some coats that could keep them warm in the freezing temperature and put one of them on herself. Feeling the Falcon land smoothly on the ground, she opened the boarding ramp and walked out onto the snow-covered stone ground. Ben followed behind her, putting his coat on. The two made their way into the massive temple, which was still standing but obviously crumbling in many places. In some ways, it reminded them of the Sith Temple on Exegol, just more elegant and less fog. But the deeper Rey and Ben got into the temple, the more dark fog formed around them.

"Ben?" Rey had lost sight of him as more of the fog clouded her vision. Ben hadn't heard Rey call his name and kept walking forward slowly, beginning to feel eerie.

"Rey?" Ben called out, but there was no response. Just the echo of his own footsteps on the stone beneath him. Worry began to creep up on him as he tried to search around his close proximity. He spun around, facing the entrance, which was also covered by fog but just lighter, and started walking backwards further into the temple. Then suddenly, from behind him, he heard the ignition of a lightsaber and the crackling of its beam. Ben could identify that sound anywhere because he only knew of one lightsaber that crackled the way that that did. He turned around and through the fog, the red cross-blade shone clear as day.

"Impossible," Ben uttered in disbelief. The figure holding the lightsaber laughed as it approached him slowly. Hearing that laugh, Ben was then able to identify the figure, which was subsequently confirmed when the figure's face came into clear view. It was...himself.

"Foolish, weak, little child! Still seeking the approval of others I see?" Kylo Ren rebuked as he striked Ben with the crossblade. Ben being quick with his instincts, had ignited Anakin's blue saber to deflect the hit.

"You're still that conflicted boy you were all those years ago, trying to find the place where you belong," their sabers continued to collide, "but you know you'll always be alone!"

Ben swung hard against the opposing saber but when it collided, it wasn't the red crossblade anymore. It was a double-bladed red saber. He looked up at the figure holding the new weapon and came face to face with it.

"Rey?" Ben said shocked, but this Rey seemed different. Her eyes glowed yellow and orange, and her smile was visibly wicked and malicious. The clothes she wore also resembled Sith attire, all black with red detailings.

Dark Rey swung her saber aggressively at Ben, who arduously fought back. He found himself losing focus every time he made eye contact with her, which gave her the upper hand. Rey spun and unclipped the other half of her lightsaber catching Ben's saber in between its two blades. Their faces were close and Ben froze, staring into her eyes, which weren't yellow anymore. Ben's heart skipped a beat as he glanced down at her lips.