Us Against the World

29

The flight itself was bumpy, jolty. At least Rey had a helmet that was far too big for her. From the movements, Exegol was not an easy place to reach and the Unknown Regions would be better left unknown. Rey was sending our path to the others and as we approached, there seemed to be less and less light force.

I felt suffocated. The light inside being crushed as I fought back. I had to think of something. I had to find something to tie me to the light. I considered Luke, my guidance, but I could feel the dark side coming. Rey was lucky, her link to Palpatine meant she wasn't feeling the suffering I was. I thought to Leia, my happiness, she could always think of something to make me smile. I thought of Han, my saviour, the one who picked me from a hunt and offered me asylum. Nothing. I held my sabers, my protection, but nothing seemed to work. Finally I thought of Ben, my life, and everything stopped. I felt like he was holding me to ground, stopping me from floating away and that was all I needed.

Exegol was dark, and the fleet was even darker. We walked under a floating block, and I felt the cold. The only light came from the continuous bursts of lightning. I could hear the distant firing but ignored it. I reached Rey, clutched her hand to show her she was far from alone, that she wasn't facing this enemy alone. With a nod, we continued.

We pashed giant statues, all structures depicting Palpatine. We passed a lab type area, seeing a case holding a head that looked like Snoke. The nearer we drew to Palpatine, the darker everything became, the colder the wind grew and the more silent the air.

Rey stopped in front of a throne. The throne of the Sith that she had a vision of her sitting on.
"I have to hand it to the Sith, then sure can make chairs." I announced, trying to break the tension and seemingly succeeding at the small laugh I received from Rey. The sound seemed to echo around the space as we looked to the stone throne, seeing large, sharp rocks protruding around it, spikes to make the ruler look all the more menacing. Rey would look tiny if she sat on that.

Chanting filled the silence. It was a chant in a different language, one that was unheard of and I sensed it to be the language of the Sith. The lightning illuminated behind us, showing multiple terraces filled with creatures. They seemed to surround us. I couldn't see what any of them looked like, they were just hooded figures chanting ominous sounds.

"Long have I waited." A voice said from behind us. It was loud. Filled the room and cut through the monotony of the chanting. We turned to see who we knew to be Palpatine, held up by some machine. Considering that machine was the only thing giving him consciousness and strength, he didn't appear weak. He was held higher than us both, as if he were above us in every way and wanted us to know this. "To meet the blood of my enemy." He said, and I knew that was me. I was the last living Kenobi and Palpatine had waited for years to find me. I deduced that the dark force my parents were hiding me from, was being held in front of me now. "And for my grandchild to come home." Rey.

He told her that he never wanted her dead, referring to her as empress. As her fear spiked, I sensed her unease at facing the throne, and not yet understanding her plan. Each word he spoke, he moved closer to emphasise each phrase. Rey and I stepped back as he explained what was Rey's birthright, to rule, to sit on the throne of the Sith, to be feared.
"I haven't come to lead the Sith." Rey started,
"Nor have I come to die by their hand." I added, standing my ground beside Rey, my hand hovering over the saber that hung by my side. Rey told her grandfather that we had come to end the Sith, a look of conviction on her face.
"As a Jedi?" Palpatine asked Rey, who immediately confirmed that fact. She was a true Jedi, no matter what he thought, and no matter how tempted with the dark side she was.

"No. You're hatred, your anger. You want to kill me." He told her. I sensed all those emotions in Rey. I had them too. I was standing before the man behind Snoke, the puppet master who had called Ben away from me to join his side. The one who deprived me of a future we both deserved.
"Just because you have those emotions, it does not make you a Sith, Rey." She looked to me, remembering all the times she had chosen to ignore my guidance. This time, she listened. She turned back to Palpatine with a new look of resolve. It didn't matter if she killed him, it wouldn't make her any less of a Jedi. If she could live with her actions, then it wouldn't matter.
"I want the same, Rey. Kill me, and my spirit will pass into you. As all the Sith live in me. You will be empress, we will be one, and Kenobi, the last light, will die." He revealed his plan.

Rey would want to kill Palpatine, he had her parents brutally murdered and I would never hold that against her. I wanted the man dead, for good this time. My parents were hunted and killed because I was the 'last light', the last of the true Jedi. If Rey struck him down in anger, then he would transfer his power to her, and his dark thoughts, in order for Rey to kill me.

All of the cloaked figures behind us knelt to Rey and suddenly all the air was pulled from my lungs. Palpatine had me held above the ground as Rey looked to me in horror. She wasn't strong enough to fight against him like this, and I couldn't focus enough to push back, instead only thinking about how my lungs were begging for oxygen. "With your hatred, you will take my life, and you will ascend. Then you will slaughter the Kenobi line once and for all." Palpatine announced, and Rey refused to hate him, refused to channel her anger to him. Yes she was angry, but at the Sith way, at their values and lust for power. Then, silence filled the air around me and I couldn't hear what they were saying. I knew that was due to my lack of air.