Chapter Text
Yet another town was in utter ruin, angry, blazing infernos insatiably licking at what little remained of the area's infrastructure as a legion of red armored stormtroopers marched through, led by a tall, masked figure, cloaked in darkness and brandishing a terrifying red, crossguard lightsaber. The dark warrior oozed rage and hatred, his hand gripping the unstable saber to the point of near combustion, and his foot repeatedly stomping against the ground as he indiscriminately slaughtered everyone in his path, men, women, and children alike, while those he couldn't reach were subjected to his agonizing Force lightning, horribly convulsing until they crumpled to the ground in a cooked, sizzling mess. The evil creature felt such pain, rage, and hatred, yet also glee, joy, happiness, with these feelings seemingly being one in the same for said being, as he was clearly enjoying said needless cruelty, relishing in the hopeless cries and pleading of those around him, before they were abruptly silenced. Other than the deafening screams, all that could be heard was the fire of blasters, the crinkling of flames, the hissing and spitting of his lightsaber, and worst of all, the sound of heavily modulated cackling from underneath the mask...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Desperately panting for some much-needed breath, nine year-old Ben Solo awoke from his nightmare, yet more vivid and hellish than the previous ones, which he didn't even think would've been possible. Every night, the masked monster would haunt his dreams, never allowing the poor boy any peace, and if it wasn't the dreams, it was a collection of dark, sinister voices whispering in his ear, telling him to fulfil some sort of destiny or birthright that he had absolutely no understanding of. Worst of all, however, was that he could actually feel the monster's feelings as though they were his own. All the hatred, all the grim, wicked satisfaction after each brutal murder, and it made the child feel sick to his stomach, unable to understand why he felt connected to the vile creature. He looked around his room, only to see that several toys, books, and other assorted items had scattered across the floor, no doubt due to the force, the mystical energy that his family was forever cursed to be incredibly sensitive to, something that he couldn't yet consciously harness, but would often use in his sleep, more often than not as a result of his frequent night terrors.
Unable to help himself, the boy began quietly weeping, unable to understand what he'd done in order to deserve life being so cruel to him, curling up and making himself small as he shivered and whimpered in fear, hoping that it would all just go away, but knowing that it wouldn't. It never did. He tossed and turned, trying in vain to go back to sleep, but it was pointless, he'd find no rest.
He knew his parents wouldn't be happy to see him at this late hour, but he needed their comfort, needed them to tell him it would all be okay, even if it wouldn't. For once, both of them were actually home, an occurrence that had become rarer and rarer over the course of Ben's short life, with his father haven taken up smuggling again, just for the thrill of it and for something to do to stave off cabin fever, while his mother was heavily involved with the politics of the New Republic.
Then, seemingly sensing her only child's anguish, the door slowly opened, revealing a remarkably tired-looking Leia Organa, her smile as radiant and beautiful as always, yet her eyes full of pity and worry for her son.
"Mommy!", Ben yelped, abruptly leaping up and wrapping his small arms around his mother, burying his face in her dress and sobbing inconsolably, hanging onto the woman for dear life. "The monster came back! He killed everyone, and it's like I was there, like I w-was the monster, a-and the voices... Make it stop, Mommy... Please, make it stop...", he wailed brokenly, his small frame violently convulsing in his mother's arms.
"Sssshhhh... Poor baby...", Leia cooed soothingly, gently rocking Ben back and forward in her arms, before gently kissing him on the forehead. "I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise...", she vowed, despite knowing that she may not be able to keep it. Her son was a direct descendant of Darth Vader, and would no doubt be sought after by the forces of the dark side, the thought of which was the woman's worst nightmare. "What did the monster look like?", she asked, with the question causing the young Ben to worriedly squirm in her arms.
"H-He had a b-black mask, with silver pieces, he wore all black, and he had a red lightsaber...", he stuttered, still clearly traumatized, but the description shook Leia to her core, not only because it was the same way he'd described it on numerous occasions before, but because even by a frightened child's description, this was clearly a follower of the dark side, perhaps even a Sith, and she knew from her own brief training from her brother that these recurring dreams likely weren't simply dreams at all, but rather visions, be they of the past, or Force forbid, a potential future, a future in which all the heartbreak, all the sacrifices, all the loved ones lost, was for nothing. Worst of all, Leia herself had bore witness to that exact vision when she was pregnant with Ben, and whether she would care to admit it or not, it played no small part in her decision to abandon the path of the Jedi. There was a terrifying possibility that herself, and now Ben, were being haunted by visions of the boy's future self, warped and twisted, just like his grandfather had been, yet somehow, even worse.
Leia tightened her grip on Ben, her own tears threatening to spill over. She couldn't, wouldn't allow her son to fall, he was such a sweet, innocent, compassionate creature, and she would sooner die than see him become that monster. The pair remained there for several long minutes, with Ben's sobs eventually starting to slow as a result of Leia softly singing him an old Alderaanian lullaby that always put him to sleep as a baby, and it seemed like almost a decade later, it still soothed his tortured little soul, even if just a little.
"Okay, I'm gonna go now, just try to get back to sleep, okay sweetie?", she cooed lovingly, softly ruffling her son's dark, fluffy hair in the way she knew he loved so much, as evidenced by the way he closed his eyes, softly purred, and leaned further into her touch.
"No... Stay...", Ben whined worriedly, gently tugging on his mother's dress as she turned away, silently pleading with big, sad, tear-filled eyes.
"I'm just down the hall, okay? I need to get some sleep, too...", Leia sighed exhaustedly, as this had become something of routine over the years, one she hoped would fade as Ben grew older, but instead, had only gotten worse. "I love you, my sweet boy...", she whispered as she exited, gently closing the door behind her, leaving it open just enough for a slither of light to shine through into the darkness.
"I love you too, Mommy...", Ben murmured, pulling the blankets up around himself, but he didn't try to sleep, as he'd much rather be tired all the time than have to face the monster again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After an hour, Ben's anxiety hadn't subsided in the slightest, and he needed another hug from his mother, so he slowly stood up, creeping towards his bedroom door, opening it as slowly and quietly as he could in his attempt to reach his parents' room across the upstairs hall of their large house.
"This just isn't working, Han, we can't give him what he needs...", Ben overheard his mother whisper, and despite knowing this conversation wasn't for his ears, it didn't sound good in the slightest, and he couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"And Luke can?", Han responded in his usual sarcastic tone. "I am not letting my boy be indoctrinated with that religious bullshit! Some things should just be left in the past, sweetheart, and maybe the Jedi went extinct for a reason", he added stubbornly, and Ben could clearly visualize his mother rolling her eyes in response. Still, that was the least of Ben's worries, as they were talking about his uncle Luke, again, and that was never a good sign. Time and time again he'd overheard his parents having some variation of this very conversation, talking of sending him away to be trained as a Jedi, something that he'd never even briefly considered wanting in his young life. He loved his uncle, and had of course heard the stories of his fabled heroics, but the only hero Ben needed was his beloved father, a man he thought the galaxy of.
As always, it was his mother arguing in favor of sending him to Luke, and his father standing firmly against it, adamant that they keep him right were he was. "There's darkness in him, Han... I sensed it before he was even born, but it's only grown stronger, it gets stronger every day... His outbursts are getting worse, his dreams are getting more and more sinister. He must learn to control his powers, for his own sake, and for everyone else's", Leia argued.
"He's nine years old, Leia! What kid doesn't throw the occasional tantrum and have bad dreams from time-to-time?", Han sighed exhaustedly, clearly sick of the conversation, and Ben couldn't help but nod along at his own door, wholeheartedly siding with his father's points, and wanting nothing more than to fall asleep in his strong, protective arms.
"You just don't understand, how could you understand?", Leia accused. "He's so strong with the force, and if I struggle to read him, then what chance could you hope to have?", she spat rather accusingly.
"You're right, I don't understand, and I don't want to! I never asked for a 'gifted' kid, why can't he just be normal? It isn't fair, on me, or on him", Han grumbled.
Upon hearing that, Ben's small hands balled up into fists, his entire frame vibrating with anger and betrayal, with the familiar feeling that his parents didn't want him rearing its ugly head.
"No... No, it isn't fair... It isn't fair at all...", Leia agreed, "Nobody should have to be burdened with such power at such a young age... That's why I want to send him to Luke, he can help him gain control, find peace... I love him as much as you do Han, but you know as well as me that we aren't there for him as much as we should be, and as busy as we are, it's no excuse. He needs a constant, guiding presence in his life, and that just can't be us, right now...", she sighed wistfully, clearly wishing that things could be different.
Ben, meanwhile, was hyperventilating, tears streaming down his cheeks.. The voices were right, they really did want to be rid of him. "You think he's gonna turn into some sort of Sith, don't you? That he'll end up like Vader?", Han asked grimly, causing Ben to gasp in terror, with the mere mention of the name Vader striking fear into his heart, especially the idea that his beloved parents somehow thought that he was destined for similar evil. He always tried so, so hard to be good, but no matter what he did, it seemed like they were still afraid of him.
"I don't even want to think about that...", Leia shuddered, "But if we let this continue, then I think it's possible... The voices, the visions, they could lead him down a very dark path. I remember being interrogated and tortured by Vader... Their Force signatures are so similar...", she recalled, momentarily growing distant as a result of reliving her most traumatic memory. "But Luke can set him on a better path, show him another way...", she added hopefully, but Ben was growing more distressed by the second, audibly whimpering, with his lip quivering in worry.
"Sweetheart, I know you're scared, so am I, but he's a good kid, he's just hurting, he's confused, he's lonely, but he wouldn't hurt anyone, you know he wouldn't", Han finished confidently.
"I'm sure the old Jedi said the same thing about Anakin", Leia murmured, uttering a name that was very, very rarely spoken in their house, for reasons that Ben could never understand, as any questions he'd asked about his grandfather had been brushed off, ignored, or sidestepped, much to the boy's confusion.
"I just... I don't wanna lose him...", Han murmured, himself sounding on the verge of tears.
"I think we already have, Han...", Leia whimpered, sounding utterly heartbroken. "I don't want him to go, either...", She finally admitted, " I just want to wrap him up and protect him from the galaxy, but I can't... We Can't...", Leia wept.
Ben was utterly destroyed, with it seeming like they were finally going to send him away from the only home he'd ever known, because he was too difficult, too much to handle, too much trouble.
"I told you, boy... You were a mistake, an embarrassment to your family...", one of the voices crooned in his ear. "You don't belong there... Your destiny lies along a different path...", another purred.
"No... No... Make it stop... MAKE IT STOP!!!", Ben screamed at the top of his lungs, violently pulling his hair, while his entire bedroom violently shook around him, shelves falling off the walls, pages being ripped out of books, toys being pulled apart, and the glass in his windows loudly shattering into tiny pieces.
Within seconds, Han and Leia had sprinted into the room, only to see their son still in the midst of what was by far his worst meltdown yet. Almost out of pure, vicious instinct, Ben began using the force to hurl pieces of debris with the force, directly at his parents. "YOU DON'T LOVE ME! YOU NEVER LOVED ME! YOU'RE SENDING ME AWAY!", he roared, with several sharp pieces of shattered glass hitting Han's collarbone and Leia's shoulder, mere millimeters from the pair's throats, prompting them to look at the young boy with pure terror in their eyes, with Ben's own eyes currently having no trace of childhood innocence, only murder.
"Yesssss... It feels good, doesn't it?... Embrace your hatred, it makes you stronger...", the voices whispered in Ben's ear, and it just felt so right, so liberating to obey them, to give into his pain, his anger...
"Ben! Calm down, please kid!", Han begged, quickly getting his wish, as such extensive use of the Force didn't take long to tire out such a young child, causing Ben to fall forward, with his father immediately catching him.
Still, the boy wasn't entirely out of energy, and his anger most certainly wasn't spent, so he began punching his father's chest as hard as he possibly could, while viciously kicking at his mother. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!", he screeched, punching and kicking with all of his strength, all the while both of his parents simply attempted to stay strong for his sake.
Then, after several long, agonizing minutes, Ben went limp against his father's chest, his hateful screams becoming quiet, guilt-ridden sobs. "I'm sorry... Mommy... Daddy... I'm so, so sorry...", he whimpered. "I try my very best to be a good boy, but... I've been bad again, haven't I?", he cried, sounding more haunted, ashamed, and guilty than any child ever should.
"It's not your fault, sweetie... It's not your fault...", Leia promised, wrapping her own arms around Ben, so that he was fully enveloped by both parents. "We're sending you to uncle Luke because we love you, because he can help you, better than we ever could", she explained, sounding rather ashamed, herself.
"But I don't wanna live with uncle Luke, I wanna live with you...", Ben pleaded, looking desperately at his parents, but they had clearly made their decision. "Please... Please don't make me go...", he cried desperately, and by this point, both Han and Leia were seriously struggling to hold back their own tears. "I'll be good, I won't break anything, just please, please don't send me away...", he begged, knowing that it was hopeless.
"I'm sorry Ben, but we leave in the morning, there's nothing we can do...", Leia sighed, giving him a sad smile as she gently wiped his tears away. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but this is for your own good, sweetie, and you'll thank us in the end, I know you will", she promised, trying to convince herself and her husband just as much as her son.
"All I ever wanted was to be a good boy... Am I a good boy?", Ben yawned, his blinking becoming heavier and heavier as he looked into Han and Leia's eyes, desperate for approval.
Their hearts broke for their son, and despite the utter mess he'd made of his room, and the still bleeding wounds he'd inflicted on them that could've ended up being lethal, neither one of them could bear to tell him any different. "You're such a good boy, Ben... I love you so, so much... I'm so proud of you...", Leia cooed, before Han slightly tightened his grip on the boy in reassurance.
"You're a great kid, Ben... The best son we could've hoped for... I love you, kid, I really do..., he promised.
Unfortunately, by the time they had finished, Ben's head had lolled to the side, his eyes shut, sleep having already taken him.
"Oh, Ben... My sweet, sweet baby...", Leia cried, finally allowing herself to break down as she gently stroked her son's hair, weeping for her only child as she did so, and even Han, a man who never cried, never let anything phase him, couldn't help but shed a few tears of his own.
Not wanting to leave him in a destroyed room, Han carried Ben into his and Leia's room, gently laying their son down on their bed. The pair threw their arms around each other, with Leia resting her head on Han's chest. "This is for the best... We're doing the right thing... Aren't we?", she asked her husband, not sounding confident in the slightest.
"I don't know, sweetheart... I don't know...", Han answered honestly, shaking his head in despair.
Leia then tucked Ben into the bed, with herself and Han crawling in on either side of him, both holding the boy close, knowing that this was very likely their last chance to ever hold him.