What If...

Chapter 16: Liar

Art not mine

Ben's POV

"Ugh!" I exclaimeded in frustration as I threw my crystals to the floor. I had absolutely no idea why or how I had two crystals from the same caves in one visit. It wasn't unheard of, especially for those who duel-wield blades, but it was unexpected and confusing.

I looked over at Rey. She was still unconscious. Her wound had stopped bleeding, but it still looked pretty serious.

I didn't want to make my lightsaber(s?). I wanted to help her, to heal her. But I knew by building them, we'd be closer to getting out of these caves and off this world. Knowing this, I knelt again, hands on my knees. My crystals were in front of me, as were the pieces of metal I would use to build my hilt(s?). I concentrated on how they would fit together and reached to them through the Force. I felt them rise, the crystals at the center, and come into their individual places. They floated back down to the floor.

I opened my eyes and saw two lightsabers in front of me. The hilts were relatively simple. They were made of a coppery metal with a cloth grip. Hands shaking, I picked them up, and attached them to my belt. I didn't need them right then. What I needed was to get out of these caves. And to do that I needed to get Rey conscious.

I got myself sitting next to her on the once-smooth floor, and lifted her onto me. I gently started Force healing. She was gonna kill me for doing this, but that thought made me smile. This felt all too familiar. The blue-green light all around, Rey with a head wound and nearly dead, me struggling to keep her alive. This felt like Exegol.

But it was also very different. I could feel her life force this time. I'll just say, right now, the only reason I climbed my way out of that hole was because I hadn't been able to feel her life force anymore. I'd panicked; it'd jerked me back.

This went smoother, I suppose. She woke almost immediately. She got up with a start and scrambled back from me, looking all around. She finally focused on me and relaxed.

"What happened?" She asked, touching her head, feeling for a wound that was no longer there.

I rushed over to her and helped her stand. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get out of this place."

...........

We had to stop several times, trying to find our way out. At last, we got to the place we'd entered. Only to find the hole gone.

"What the–" Rey muttered. "No, no this is not right. No, we've been here less than a day, am I correct in thinking that?"

I nodded. "Been here about 12 hours."

"Then the entrance should still be here!" She exclaimed. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"I'm just as confused as you are. But what are we going to do about it? We can't just wait for the hole to open. Who knows when it would?" I answered. We'd seemed to have switched roles. She was usually the calmer one.

She pressed the bottom of her hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't know. I have no idea what we should do. I'm out of ideas."

But then a thought came to mind. "We have our lightsabers don't we?" I asked.

She nodded. "I haven't seen yours yet."

"That's not the point. The point is, we could just cut through the walls and get out that way."

She paused. "That could work."

"Mmhm."

She grabbed her hilt and flashed on the golden blade. I grabbed both of mine and turned them on, seeing their color for the first time. One blue, one a deep purple.