A New Force

Chapter VII: Seeking True Harmony

They left her there, awkwardly standing in front of the force-sensitive former Stormtrooper.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Finn asked, looking up from his hands.  She had his allegiance, and he had his doubts.

"Finn..." Rey moved to sit next to him on a neighboring crate, "It has to work.  I would rather be dead than face what the galaxy will look like without our dyad bond." 

"Back there, before we arrived at Luke's old temple.  I saw something in you."  He lowered his voice, making eye contact with his friend turned mentor.  "You love him."

Rey hesitated for a moment, her brain sputtering out a million things she could say to combat his realization.  But she knew Finn would know better.  Half of her knew she didn't want to hide it anymore, either. 

"Yes.  On Exegol... we shared a kiss before he disappeared.  Finn, I've never felt anything like it before." 

"And you're sure this isn't just a byproduct of your bond?  Do you know for certain that these... feelings are genuine?"  The boy looked genuinely concerned.  Once, long ago, he felt that he could've loved Rey.  He soon discovered that the pull he felt to her was derived from his Force sensitivity. 

Rey nodded.  "I've never been more certain.  Beyond saving the galaxy, and ensuring peace in the Force... I... I can't live without him."  She grasped her hands together, knuckles turning white at the thought.  "I've never known anyone like him.  Ben.  We understand each other better than anyone else in the universe.  He makes me feel things that I didn't know were possible as a Jedi." 

The old Finn would have been hurt by these words, but he felt happy.  Something about the way Rey spoke convinced him that there was no one else in the entire galaxy that would make her feel that way. 

Truthfully, no one else could understand Rey the way that Ben Solo could, and vice versa.  Although it began through the Force, their bond became stronger through something else.  The Jedi texts that Rey had spent hours pouring over always warned about these feelings.  Love.  It was supposedly the motivator for Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, and the reason why relationships had always been discouraged.  Connection was seen as a weakness.

But now, generations later, the fate of the future lay in the hands of two people caught in the strongest bond seen in centuries.  It was ironic.  One without the other was pure chaos, just as Light always came along to flesh out the Dark, and the Dark always came to swallow the Light.  Now, in perfect harmony, a balance that was predicted long before Rey or Ben were ever a mere thought.

Perhaps, Rey wondered, the Jedi had always been just as wrong as the Sith.  Their righteousness and pride blinding them from the truth of real balance. 

The girl pondered these things, sitting in silence with the curious boy.  Finn had much work to do.  Although he was Force-sensitive, Rey did not know how strong he was, or how receptive he'd be to her lessons.  Rey did not even know if she would make a proper teacher.

However, Finn was right.  She is supposedly the last Jedi in the galaxy, aside from Ben Solo, who was drifting somewhere distant. 

If she ever hoped to put an end to the Sith and Jedi, she needed to remain alive.  Rey suddenly realized that the dyad bond between her and Ben was the only thing that would truly let her forge a new generation.  The Force had spent centuries trying to teach the Lords of the Light and the Dark.  Predicting of a balance; but they never understood, clawing for power instead.

Their bond was the finale of years in war and mayhem; an ancient prophecy finally fulfilled that so many attempted coerce. 

"I can't teach you to be a Jedi."  Rey finally said.

Finn's heart dropped, as he looked at his best friend in confusion.  He felt betrayed, as though she had dangled a reward in front of his face, only to snatch it away.

"The Jedi and the Sith.  It's a division that should have never existed.  Ben and I... we will symbolize something different.  What prophecies from ages ago foretold of."  Verbalizing it now,  she made the decision then and there.  She knew Ben Solo would agree.  She knew it with her entire soul.

Finn didn't know how to feel.  He felt a bolt of uncontrollable anger surge through him, but he pushed it down quickly.  Jedi don't feel anger, he told himself.  Finally, he got up, looking down at his friend in disappointment.  He had vowed to help her find Ben Solo, so he would.  But he did not know what lay beyond that.  "If you won't help me... I can find someone who will." 

The anger Rey sensed from her friend shocked her, as she watched his figure disappear down a corridor of the Falcon and towards his bed chambers.  She had always known Finn to have a short fuse; to make decisions like the crack of a whip,  but the emotions she felt emanating from him for a split second... scared her. 

"Hey, kid."  Poe's voice yelled from the cockpit.  "I need you up here!"

Rey shook her head, as though to rip away whatever reverie she was in.  Leaping from her seat, she decided to worry about her friend later. 

--

"What do you see?"

He strained, looking out at the explosive scene before him.  Light clashed with Dark, while the universe around them hurtled into despair.  "I see... a battle.  A constant tug for dominance.  Never quite equal."

The Master snapped his fingers. 

"Now. What do you see?"

In an instant, the scene changed.  The suffering and hatred from before became a perfect blend.  It was harmony.  "Balance.  Peace in the Force.  The two became one."

"Mmh. Good.  An ancient prophecy, this is."  Ben wanted to live in this Force vision forever.  It was beautiful.  "Palpatine did not know that bonding you and the girl sealed his centuries-long fate." 

Ben slowly opened his eyes, looking forward at his new Master.

"Broken, you are.  An ancient war rages deep within you.  It always has.  The girl too.  The power of this harmony is stronger than the Sith.  Stronger than the Jedi, indeed."

The words shocked Ben.  He never thought that the Grand Master of the Jedi, one of the wisest creatures to ever live, would admit fault of the Jedi Order.  Ben Solo felt it long ago, as Luke Skywalker desperately tried to thrust the mantle of the Jedi on his shoulders.  He knew that he didn't belong.

"Show me what happens if they fail in their mission."  Ben closed his eyes once more.

"What do you see, boy?"

The harmony from before dissolved into conflict.  Millions die, stuck between the two ignorant powers.  Worlds collapse, and species vanish.  Soon, although the Light struggles valiantly, it is overcome by the power of the Darkness and swallowed whole.  "Rey... she will die.  The Light with her.  Centuries of Darkness, seemingly infinite."

"Mmh.  Fail, you must not.  The lives of those who fought for balance before you rest on your shoulders.  As prophesied, the war will end with a Skywalker."

Ben knew what he must do.  But the waiting was infuriating.  He sensed the storm brewing and growing beside him, and hoped that wherever Rey was in the galaxy, she was far away from whatever evils lay in wait.

—

A/N:

So, I haven't updated in a while and I'm so sorry for that!  To be honest, I've been focusing on my two other stories (if you're bored go check them out). 

If anyone is still following along, please make sure to vote and comment! I might be discontinuing the story if no ones reading it.

This was a short chapter and I have another one ready to go, but I'm trying to decide if I should just delete this story or not.  Let me know!

Thanks everyone!