Us Against the World

31

As he finished, I forced my push back, threw Palpatine's hold on me away and stood straight, igniting my two weapons that I called to me hands. My efforts to get out of his hold were in vain as he began to pull out force from us, drawing out the energy to keep it in him. It was one of the strangest feelings, it left me feeling empty as something pulled out of me. I stepped in front of the others, trying to utilise what was left inside so I could stop him. At the sound of Palpatine's laugh, I made my blades form a cross in front of us. The moment the sabers were in position, the feeling stopped and I heard Ben and Rey fall to the floor.

I looked to the sky, feeling hope. Hundreds of ships from all corners of the galaxy, holding every type of being that refused to bow to the Sith again, were ready to help our pilots. They outnumbered the ties that darted around easily. They had a chance of beating the Final Order fleet, a big chance. The scales were tipping in our favour up there, we just had to make sure that it wasn't for nothing. If we couldn't defeat Palpatine, then it would all be for nothing. As a ship exploded, I saw the beauty in the flames and I couldn't help but smile.

I then turned back to the two behind me. Kneeling down, I could see them both unconscious, and even though I shook each one desperately, I got no response.
"Look what you have made." A voice spoke from behind. I turned to see Palpatine, no longer held by mechanics and being kept alive like an experiment. He stood tall, his eyes a glowing yellow. No longer did his robes hang off him limply. They were now the frame around the dark image, the epitome of evil. The strongest of enemies. Behind me, I heard the chanting begin again, elated that their emperor had truly risen again. I tried to ignore the presence, I tried to wake Ben and Rey.

I saw that Ben had started to move while I was shaking Rey, keeping an eye on the Sith leader in case he stepped closer to me or them. The moment he moved I knelt at his side, turning his head to face me.
"Lowla." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. I saw his gaze turn to meet Palpatine's glare and he pushed himself to stand. I picked up my sabers and stood beside Ben, praying he didn't do anythin stupid.

Ben was barely on his feet before Palpatine had him held high above me.
"A Kenobi is always doomed to watch their love die." Palpatine said. I wondered who he was referring to. Maybe my father had been slaughtered in front of my mother, maybe my Grandfather had to watch his love die in front of him. I feared for Ben.
"Hurt me, just leave Ben." I begged. Palpatine looked directly at me as I dropped my weapons, causing Ben to fight against the force holding him. I stepped closer to Palpatine, hoping he had taken me up on my offer.
"As once I fell, so falls the last Skywalker." He spat, throwing Ben backwards and to the glowing chasm behind us. I screamed. I know I screamed because my mouth was open, and Rey awoke next to me, her head turning to me immediately. My eyes never left the hole, watching the white cloud rise slightly as Ben fell downwards. I didn't know what I was feeling. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream.

"What would you do if someone killed me?" Ben asked while he was climbing up the tree. He was higher than me, demanding that he was older so he could sit on the highest branch. The question had come out of nowhere but my young 10 year old self didn't miss a beat as I looked back up at Ben who looked down, awaiting my answer.
"I'd kill them." I told him, sitting myself on the branch. Leia had told us that we weren't allowed to climb too high. We had interpreted that to mean that as long as we didn't sit on the very top branch then we had obeyed her wishes. It had taken us a few days to find the perfect path up the tree, but now we had it, there was no way we would fall.
"No you wouldn't. You're too good." Ben laughed, sitting on the branch nearest to him. His hair was beginning to grow longer now, just starting to fall in front of his eyes, meaning he was constantly running his hand through his hair or flicking his head. Leia said it was at an 'awkward length'.
"But I'd have lost my best friend." I said, looking up to him. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do something." Everyone thought I was good. Not the kind of good where I follow the rules all the time. Apparently there was a goodness in me that was rare, one where purity and light poured out of my every word. My soul was inherently good.
"If someone killed you, I'd strike them down where they stood." He said, making a swishing motion with his hand as if holding a lightsaber. This made me laugh. I couldn't imagine Ben hurting anyone as much as he could picture me seeking revenge. We were young, there was still time for those traits to develop.
"What do you think it'd be like to fall?" Ben asked suddenly, changing the subject with a far off look in his eyes. For a second, I was worried he planned on jumping out of the tree. When he made no move to push himself off the branch other than swinging his legs like I was doing, I asked him why he had thought of that. "I had a dream last night that I was falling. There was a white cloud and everything was blue. My stomach dropped, and I couldn't move. I tried reaching for the rocks I could see but I woke up before I could reach them. I just wondered if that was what falling felt like." I didn't know what to say. I had often thought the same thing, imagining if I would be scared or not, guessing whether I could land or not. We knew as Jedi they could harness the force to allow them to land if they jumped from high heights. We knew Jedi could jump higher and flip better than anyone else. Ben had probably been thinking of that before he went to sleep.
"You have silly dreams, Ben." I answered and we both broke out into a fit of laughter.

Then I heard laughter.

Demonic. Mocking. Laughter. So I stood from my position, turning away from the chasm and facing the creature stood laughing at my heartbreak. I pulled my weapons to my hands, igniting them and letting the white illuminate my face. I knew I looked angrier, darker than I ever had. My eyes were set in a deep glare as I held the blades up, taking position. I saw him turn his hands to the sky, letting out a powerful lightning that went straight to the ships. Whatever he was doing, I could see our resistance fighters going down, their systems losing power.

I ran forward, forcing him to step back and trying to break his connection, stopping the surge of power that was taking out our reinforcements. The power remained.
"So the last Kenobi wishes to die." He stated, and I heard the loud chanting pick up again as Palpatine faced me.
"Use the force." The voice filled my ears. All the times I had demanded that Rey meditate coming back to me, every time Luke told me to do the same when I first entered the Jedi Temple returning to my thoughts. I then looked to the sky, closing my eyes. I felt the lightning hitting every ship. So, I used each strand of power like a string to tie me to the ships, and suddenly I could see every single one in my mind's eye. I used the force to hold them, holding them up against Palpatine and keeping them from falling further. I heard Poe's happy laughter, and the growl from Chewie as he felt who was saving them. Their happiness and hope gave me the motivation and strength I needed. With one final push, I absorbed all the energy Palpatine was using.

I looked to the villian directly, watching his shock as I stood firm while all his force lightning travelled down towards me, creating a cloud of dust. It didn't hurt. I had imagined that getting the full power of the strongest Sith emperor in history would hurt a little. But as I absorbed the energy and released it into Exegol as pure light, I didn't feel pain. However, once it was all gone, I couldn't help but fall to the floor, drained, exhausted.

From here, I had a full view of the battle as more explosions began again, lighting up the darkness. Each one made me smile more. I then saw Rey, stood above with Leia's saber in hand, looking the most confident I had ever seen her. She was a true Jedi.