19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Luke, Anakin, and Ben ran towards where Rey's scream came from, and found a horrific sight. A dozen shadowy creatures, shaped like a cross between a Wookie and a Gungan, rose from the sandy hills. The Jedi could barely distinguish them from the darkness. It was only when they passed by the light of a saber that they could be seen at all, but the Jedi knew they were there. They oozed darkness and burned through the Force. It was impossible to miss them.

"Force Wraiths," Anakin cursed as if that could possibly mean something to Luke or Ben, raised in a time with few Force-users. "They're the Dark Side embodied."

They felt like it too. Even the bravest soul would have cowered before them. But you can cower and still fight for your life, as the Skywalkers did. These wraiths had to be under the control of Achyls, which meant she had Rey. If Achyls thought that a few wraiths would keep Rey's family from coming for her they were sorely mistaken. She was not to be left behind on Jakku again.

While Rey's family fought the wraiths, she was dragged kicking and screaming by a couple very-corporal men. At one point she managed to throw them off, summoning the Force to do her bidding, but they too knew a side of the Force, and together disarmed Rey.

"We are the Knights of Ren. We cannot be defeated."

Rey gritted her teeth at that assessment, but said nothing. They were bringing her right to Achyls, and that was where Rey wanted to be. Soon enough her family would come and they could end the terror of Rey's time before it even began.

Achyls's ship was impressive, the size of a Star destroyer and half the pompous flair. Rey was forced down halls and finally thrown into a large and ornate room. She wished she'd been thrown into a cell. At least them she'd know she was in for pain, not lies.

"Do not attempt to use Jedi Mind tricks on us," one of her guards warned, and Rey cursed herself for telling Achyls so much. "We are impervious."

They probably weren't impervious, but knowing it was coming would certainly keep them from falling victim to Rey, who really had about a week of training under her belt. Cursing everything, Rey sat on the floor, and meditated, trying to find the Light Side in a place so surrounded by Dark.

One of the first things Anakin had taught her about was the living Force. We are the Force's progeny, more than anyone. It lives in us as it does in all life. When you're at peace you can become one with it, even in the midst of a battle.

Rey was at peace when Achyls came in. The Light surrounded her, rejuvenating her and giving her strength beyond compare. Achyls saw that strength and relished in it. If her apprentice, Snoke, thought that pitiful Kylo Ren was worthy of training when Rey was an option then he was a fool. Rey had power beyond that of Kylo. Beyond that of Achyls herself-not that the Master Knight would ever admit it.

"Hello Rey."

"Hello Achyls."

Achyls smiled, sitting down on Rey's bed and crossing her legs. "I do hope my knights weren't particularly rough on you. If they were feel free to chop their heads off. Even if they weren't feel free to chop their heads off."

"No. Don't even try to convince me to turn. I never will use the Dark Side. I've seen how its power corrupts and destroys. I have a family. I finally have a family. I will not allow the Dark Side to destroy that again. You will never win."

Achyls doubted that. "Have you ever heard of a Gray Jedi?" Of course Rey hadn't. She'd barely heard of the Jedi. "They're people who use both the Light and the Dark Sides of the Force. They are not consumed by the Dark Side as a Sith is, or limited by the Light like a Jedi. If a powerful Force user was to become a Gray Jedi they would undoubtedly be the most powerful person in all of history."

Rey couldn't help but wonder if that was true. Could you use the Dark Side without it controlling you? If so was it really wrong then…

No! Rey would not allow herself to have such ridiculous thoughts. Did Anakin think he was going to let the Dark Side control him when he became Darth Vader? Did Ben think he was going to lose himself in becoming Kylo Ren? Perhaps those with little power or sway over the Force could walk such a precarious line, but not a Skywalker. She was, in many ways the Force itself. She had both sides, but she only chose to use the Light. She would not destroy everything and use the Dark.

"If you are offering to teach me I will have to say no, but thank you, for it is generous of you to provide ways in which I can kill you." Rey didn't want to kill Achyls though. She wanted to stop the Dark Side, but not kill Achyls. That was what made her light.

Achyls hissed, but quickly straightened herself out. "I see you're distraught over being separated from your family again. Why don't I give you some time to yourself to think? I'll be back soon, and by then I'm sure you'll have realized that you can't keep your family if you don't use the power of the Dark Side." Rey doubted it. She'd seen too much. She knew this story. She would not fall.

Anakin's leg got caught in a ditch of sand, and he fell. A wraith came down upon him, and the Jedi rolled to the side, easily destroying it. Wraiths weren't particularly dangerous enemies physically, but psychologically they could take a toll. Ben, who'd been having such a hard time with the Dark Side anyways, was basically incapacitated against the wraiths. Anakin himself was struggling to keep the Darkness from overcoming him. Each time it tried to, however, he just pictured Padmé and their family. Instantly the Light within him sparked, and he defeated another round.

As the sun rose, the last of the wraiths were defeated. The three didn't even take the time to catch their breath before setting off after Rey's tracks. They were coming for her. She was not being left behind.