Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I will finish what you started,” Kylo Ren promised the mask, promised his grandfather.

He jumped as suddenly a voice sounded from behind him, a soft voice with an outer rim accent:

“And what was that?”

He turned, and he faced a tall man, only a few inches shorter than himself. He wore robes of deep brown and black. A scar slashed over his face, but it seemed to add to the good qualities that were already there. Kylo Ren continued studying him, noticing the near-shoulder length curls, the easy way in which he held himself.

“Who are you?”

The man smiled, and began to circle the compartment, going around to the front. He put a hand down on the ruined mask lying in ashes of the dead. A deep sigh left him, and he bowed his head.

Realization struck Kylo, and he fell to his knees.

“Darth Vader,” he breathed.

“Please, there’s no need for that. Besides, I’m not him anymore.”

Confused, Kylo lifted up his head, face furrowed.

“Then why are you here?”

“I was hoping to help you, to rid you of the fallacies in your mind.”

“But I’m following your path,” Kylo argued, getting to his feet. Force, it felt good to be taller than this supposed “Darth Vader.” “I’m learning the ways of the dark side, as you did!” he insisted.

“I did learn the ways of the dark side. But they are wrong.”

“No, no. The light--the light is wrong. I’ve felt it. I’ve seen it.”

“Have you?”

Kylo tilted his head up, proud at what he was about to announce, feeling arrogant, knowing he was right. “In your son, Luke Skywalker. He tried to kill me.”

“A reckless mistake.” He opened his mouth to speak, but “Darth Vader” went on, “It runs in the family. Comes from me, I suppose. Master Obi-Wan always told me I was too reckless, always tried to get me to slow down. And I… I didn’t. I didn’t stop or think or reach out for help. So I Fell.”

“As you were meant to.”

“Darth Vader” glared at him. “No one’s meant to.”

“But there must be balance in the Force!”

“And can you bring that balance, Ben?”

“Don’t call me that! Ben Solo is dead.”

He was ignored: “Can you bring balance through subjugation and death?”

“Where there is life, there must also be death.”

“And you’re the one with the right to bring it into this universe?”

“You did!”

“I was wrong. I brought balance. After pain, and suffering, and loss. I killed the Emperor, Darth Sidious. I saved my son. This man that you pray to, he is not there anymore. Darth Vader is dead. I am Anakin Skywalker, as I always should’ve been.”

He reached out a hand to him, and Kylo gave a slight start as it touched his shoulder. All of this was… too much to take in. This Force ghost had to be lying, had to be a trick, certainly. His grandfather had never been this weak. It couldn’t be true!

“And now you must be Ben Solo again.”

Kylo drew back. “I was never him. What you think you see in me is gone. It’s a lie. As are you.”

To his surprise, Anakin gave an amused smile, and it infuriated him. He almost reached for his lightsaber, wishing to slash him to pieces, but he knew that would never work.

“Oh? And what am I lying about?”

“You’re not him!” Kylo raged, pointing at the ruined mask. “You’re not him, you can’t be him! Darth Vader, my grandfather, was a dark, and powerful man!”

“And what do you think happened to that man!” Anakin cried, stepping forward and blocking Kylo’s view of the mask. “He burned! He lost his wife! He killed his master! He tried to kill his son! Is that what you want? Pain and loss? Are you so ignorant that you think that’s all you’ll know or deserve? Ben--”

“Don’t--”

“Ben,” he insisted, “I know what Snoke did to you, what he’s been doing since before you were even born. You can break free of it, as I did. Where there is dark, there is also light. And it’s out there, right now. It’s in you. Let it pull you out of the dark.”

By now, he felt tears building up in his eyes, and he sat, legs too weak to stand.

“How? How do I escape this?”

“I’ll help you.”

“What can you do?” he asked. “You’re not really here.”

“I am, and I live in you, as Luke does, as Han Solo and Leia do. You’re part of this lineage. You are not alone.”

“What must I do?”

“Very soon you will find a girl, a scavenger. Help her. Listen to her. She is strong in the Force.”

“An adversary,” Kylo muttered, unthinkingly.

“No. A friend. Snoke has cut you off from all you need, and all you once knew. But he is not all there is. With help, with me, and this girl, you can reach your family.”

“I don’t want my family.”

Anakin just gave him a sad smile. “I know, Ben. I know.”

This time, he didn’t have the energy to argue with him about his name. His head was spinning, chest aching. Too much. It was all too much! But he felt what Anakin spoke of: the light. It was there, in that very compartment amongst all the black.

“Let go of the dark side. Become yourself,” Anakin told him.

Kylo had no answer, could only sit there with his fists clenched, breaths coming in near-sobs.

When he looked up, the Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker was gone.

His comlink beeped, but it barely drew him away from all the pain. Still, he had to answer. He took it from his belt, and pressed the button. “Yes?”

“Lord Ren, we found the droid. It’s with a girl.”

A girl.

Kylo raced from the compartment, barely able to contain his wild and savage energy. He made his way for the hangar, ordering on his way there, “Prepare my ship.”

He had business with a girl on Jakku.