A New Force (ON HOLD)

Chapter VI: It's Not Always Pretty

Ben finally awoke from his dream.

The rest was peaceful, and he wondered if Master Yoda had sent him there to ensure he didn't spiral out of control.  The memories of his guilt and shame right before he fell asleep resurfaced, although the pain was a little more distant now.  He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but it was long enough for the storm to pass and the wound to begin to heal.

He lifted his head, ironically locking eyes with the storm brewing in the distance.  Ben wished he had told Rey, but there were more pressing matters at hand.  Currently, the fact that he was laying in cosmic nothingness, suspended in time in a completely different realm. 

If she could get to him, they wouldn't need to worry much about the evils on the horizon.  With balance finally restored in the galaxy, they would prove hard to defeat.

Ben groaned, rolling on his back.  He looked at the stars above him, that looked identical to the stars to his sides and beneath him.

He wondered how long he could do this without becoming a madman.  He also wondered how long Master Yoda would appear to him and keep him sane, and how long young Rey would fight to find him.  After years of mental and physical exhaustion at the hands of the resistance and Palpatine, he thought that maybe he would enjoy the endless hours to sleep and rest. 

However, he slowly felt the ache of boredom creep at the edges of his mind. 

All he could do was hope.  The sensation that he spent so long seeking out and crushing.  Now, he was dependent on.  Ironic, isn't it?

Mostly, he just hoped he would see her again.  He wished for it to be in person, but even getting to see Rey in his dreams or through their Force bond would make him happy. 

Happy.

He let the world dissolve in his mind as he tried to dissect its origins.  The Darkness lives to choke out these kinds of feelings.  It is weakness; the opposite of anger, where a Sith derives his power.  As unfamiliar as the word was, he decided that he liked the way it made him feel.  Rey was one of the happiest people he knew; she was also the strongest. 

Rey.

Ben did not think he knew how he felt about her just yet.  Their kiss on Exegol still tingled his lips when he reveled in the memory.  However, it was in the heat of the moment.  He had just saved her life, and although he was appreciative of this token, he wasn't sure if it was genuine. 

As Kylo Ren, he was a tactical warlord, thinking steps ahead of the resistance.  But now, he was Ben Solo.  Dangled somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, trying to decipher the intentions of a young scavenger girl.

He knew what he'd hoped her intentions were.  There's that word again, the word he was beginning to warm up to.  Ben sat up, feeling something new.

All there was to do was wonder where she was, and what she was doing.  How close she was to finding him, and if she's ever to find him. 

A sharp pain suddenly fell upon the back of Ben's head, and he turned to discover Master Yoda, cane in hand.

"Meditate, you will.  Become stronger in the Force.  You will need it." 

There was a playful tone in his voice, and Ben couldn't help but feel like he didn't really need that cane.  However, the Grand Master was right.  If he was to help Rey find him and restore balance in the universe, he needed to stop pining and continue training his mind. 

Ben crossed his legs, closing his eyes, and slipped into a meditative state.

--

Chewie roared, just as Rey had finished lacing her boots.  She stumbled out of her chambers, to see the excited Wookie run to let her know they had finally landed.  Truthfully, Rey did not know much about this planet or its terrain.  All she knew is that in the Jedi texts, it was referred to as "one of the purest places in the galaxy".  It made sense that this is where Grand Master Yoda chose to ascend into the Force.