╔════ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍
'𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞' ═════════╝
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
...CRAIT, OUTER RIM
𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 that is invisible and shrouded. It sits like a weight, it pulls and twists the heart, it delves deep into guilt for an unseen reason. It is recompense for mistakes unforgiven and it follows always.
Waiting doesn't always make itself known. It hides in the shadows of doubt that coat every sleepless night in a new shade of worry. It chokes the light of the stars into the flowing liquidity of an ink-black night. It is a coward. It doesn't show itself until it is too late, and then it dissipates into the air like smoke.
Then it was like it was never even there.
When Luke let his hood fall away, he let years of guilt be exposed. So many words rushed to his lips, things that he didn't even realize he had been waiting to say. They were all rendered obsolete in seconds. For a moment, Lyra just looked at him. She studied his face, and he was doing the same thing to her. From the moment he met her eyes, she knew he wasn't really there. Half real, an apparition of a ghost.
For that moment, existing was enough.
It was family as it should be. If he narrowed his frame of vision, there was no war outside the doors of the mine. There was a good chance that this would be the last act of Luke Skywalker, but it wouldn't be the end of him. Not when Lyra was standing there and looking at him with the same innocent hope he had seen in her gray eyes so many years ago.
"Luke," Leia breathed, face turned towards her brother. Unblinking and barely moving, she marveled at the sight of him after so many years.
He stepped into the cold, glowing light. Leia stopped him before he could speak; there wasn't enough time. He knew that the waiting had been too long. So much had been lost, too much, maybe. Her Resistance, the one that she had built from the ashes of a rebellion, was so close to being gone. But she could never be mad at him, not for long.
And they didn't have long left.
"I know what you're going to say," she told him gently. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she too could feel the finality of it all. "I changed my hair."
Luke just blinked and tilted his head. A small smile graced his lips. "It's nice that way. Leia," he said, and then he shook his head. "I'm so sorry."
"I know you are. I'm just glad you're here now, at the end."
His expression hardened. "I came to help, but I can't save him. Not now, that's going to take time."
"I held out hope for so long." Leia shook her head, almost reverent. "I know my son's gone."
"No one's ever really gone." He dropped something into Leia's palm, and she breathed sharply as she realized what he held. The golden dice that had once belonged to Han Solo. Beautiful and glittering with a fresh polish, the pristine condition that Han never failed to maintain.
"Lyra," he said, finally turning and looking at his daughter.
"You're not here," she said, voice barely a whisper. Tears were already streaking down her cheeks.
"I'm not," he agreed. He extended a hand to her. "But I'm always with you."
Skeptical, she placed her blood stained palm on top of his. A small gasp was pulled from her throat as she realized that his form was solid.
"How–?"
"Better to not ask questions now, LJ."
For a half second, he didn't know what she would do. She had every right to reject him for what he had done. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and he held her in a tight embrace, closing his eyes and finally letting his own tears fall. Nothing was supposed to end like this, and yet he was still granted the gift of seeing her one last time.
"My Lyra Jai," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. All grown and battle-hardened, but still she would always look small to him. "I'm sorry I was too late."
She shook her head vehemently. "You weren't, you aren't. This doesn't have to end today. Please," she said, and his heart broke over itself. "Don't make this the end."
"I came to face him," he told her resolutely. "We all face our sins in the end. No matter what happens I want you to understand that I am proud of who you became."
"Dad," she pleaded, voice no more than a whisper. His heart broke over itself. "Don't leave me again."
"I'll never leave you."
And even if they both knew the promise was hollow, a fool's sentiment to balm the sharp edge of the truth, she still managed a small smile.
He turned away and walked towards the flaming hole that was carved into the doors of the mine. Breathing evenly now, he had enough strength to change the course of this fight. To right a wrong.
Lando Calrissian, always there at the bitter end, gave him a loose salute and a wide grin. "Skywalker."
Luke returned it with a quick wink. Legends never die.
-ˋˏ★ˎˊ-
𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 the hole in the door, it looked like the world was blazing. It was marred by the charred flames of a smoldering fire that bent and warped the heavy, supposedly blast-proof metal. Through it, daylight was burning into a golden-blue sunset. The end of something. Maybe not the Resistance, but the red dust kicked up on a salt planet was marking an end.
Sinister harbinger or holy savior, one or the other. The winner was yet to be determined.
As Lyra watched her father step through and into the light, all she wanted to do was run. All her life, fight had been the only response that was adequate. For close to the first time, she wanted to flee; she didn't want to watch.
The bright mark of the world outside still burned in her retina as she turned away. Everyone else was still looking and watching with bated breath as Luke Skywalker's trick came to fruition. They didn't know the truth as she did, and there wasn't enough left in her to explain. She could feel the exhausting anger of Kylo Ren as it sent shockwaves through the Force with its residual adrenaline.
Out of the ashes of a charred and empty hope, the legacy of the Skywalkers lived on in one way or another. The dark and the light had always been a part of their family, and this particular fight was going to be no different.
Those who had gathered watched in front of the broken window. Leia stood at the head of the group, every soldier and mechanic they had left was waiting.
But not Lyra.
Lyra didn't need to see to know what would happen. She didn't wince when the First Order unleashed an excessive slew of bullets that should have been able to kill anyone, Jedi or not. Kylo Ren didn't know that he was shooting at a ghost.
His blind anger was his greatest weakness. He was headstrong and foolish, but the fact that he had killed Snoke said something about his character. Call it insanity or malice, or maybe even human nature, but Ben Solo was still up there somewhere.
Kylo Ren was completely distracted. He was about to run down from his ship and ignite his lightsaber and swing it clean through a man that wasn't even there. Even the simplest tricks were enough to fool someone blinded by power.
The stagnant silence was broken by the sound of shouting.
"Med pack!" Finn cried, slowly making his way across the charred salt. "I need a med pack!"
Lando, who had been standing and staring, rushed over to help the medics. "We'll take care of her, don't you worry about that."
It took a second for Lyra to register one, that Finn was alive, and two, the person he was dragging behind him was an unconscious Rose Tico. Poe ran over to meet him, and Finn was breathless as he tried to explain what was going on.
"You're fine," Poe reassured Finn by placing a hand on his shoulder. "You and Rose are safe."
"Tried to stop it," Finn breathed, shaking his head as he watched Lando step away with Rose and the medics. "Didn't work, Rose crashed into me, and I dragged her back here"--he paused, pointing behind him at the hole in the door-- "Is that Luke Skywalker?"
Lyra looked past Finn. So far, not much else had happened. Kylo Ren was just finishing his process of descending.
Poe held up his quadnocs, looking at the scene unfolding in front of them. Lyra could hear the mechanical zoom of the aperture as it focused. "Luke's facing him alone."
"We have to help him, he can't take on an entire army," Finn said, already starting to move forward. His face was bruised and bleeding, and his adrenaline wasn't doing his common sense any favors. "C'mon, let's go!"
Eleni held out her arm in front of his chest to stop him. Finn gave her an incredulous look. "Not this time," She said evenly, sparing only a glance at Lyra. "He's given us a chance to escape."
Bee rolled right next to Poe's feet, more than happy to be back with his master. "Okay, we need to find a way out of here, there's gotta be another way out of this mine."
"If I may," Threepio butted in, holding up a hand. "It is possible that an unmapped opening exists This facility is such a maze of endless tunnels, that the odds of finding and exit are--"
Annoyance was written on Poe's face as he listened to the protocol droid. He held out a hand as he stepped forward, attempting to quell Threepio.
"Three-thousand four hundred and twenty-eight--" Threepio tried.
"Shut up!" Poe bellowed, beyond fed up with the droid.
"To one." Threepio finished. Miffed, he stepped out of the way.
Poe rolled his eyes. "Listen."
There was nothing but silence hanging in the air as Poe turned back to look at Lyra. The sunlight coming from the opening behind her illuminated his face with perfect ease. Without knowing what she was doing, she memorized it. The way he was looking at her, the way he smiled because he knew he had found a way out. It was the same dangerous smirk that meant he had an idea and no matter how bad it was, he would see it through. The light made his brown eyes flicker with golden light, highlighting the sharpness of his jawline and the way his curls shifted ever-so-slightly in the breeze.
But just as fast, he turned back around and faced away from her.
"My audio sensors are no longer detecting--" Threepio said brightly.
"Exactly." Poe kept walking forward and further away from Lyra until he stopped and tilted his head upwards.
Finn followed close behind. "Where'd the crystal critters go?"
It sounded like a windchime in the near distance. A Vulptex yipped once, glittering like the driven snow as it turned and ran down a narrow tunnel.
"We need to follow that thing," Poe said with full confidence.
And still, everyone turned to look at Leia.
Leia made a show of turning to look behind her. "What are you lookin' at me for?" she gestured. "Follow him!"
Poe gave a fleeting smile before he turned around and led everyone away. The brightness of their possible escape was enough to allow Lyra to fall back and lag behind everyone as they made their way deeper into the tunnels of the mine.
The charred salt cracked under her boots as she walked towards the opening to the mine. With her uniform on and her batons strapped into their holsters, she could almost pretend that nothing had changed and that there was a way she could remain a Resistance fighter. Lyra had seen the truth the moment she had picked up her grandfather's lightsaber, and the scene in front of her was only a culmination of what had been destined for years.
Today marked the death of Lyra Endellion.
With a shaky intake of breath, Lyra stood on the surface of Crait and watched. The battle would be to the death in Kylo Ren's eyes. The blue light of fading day reflected off of the metallic armor of the First Order's defenses. It was so much stronger than everything the Resistance had, and yet it still wouldn't be enough.
"Come on LJ," Leia said as she placed a gentle hand on Lyra's shoulder. There was a kind of resignation in her eyes. "They're waiting for us."
The effort that Luke Skywalker was about to expend was enough to kill him. It was a feat unlike anything he had attempted before. The Force was resisting his very touch, granting him just enough control to best his nephew in a battle of wit and trickery instead of strength. Even from where she stood, Lyra could feel him fighting the will of the Force.
This was the beginning of a goodbye.
The beacon on Leia's wrist was flickering with feverish intensity as they caught up to the group again. Rey was right above them, searching for them just like they were searching for a way to find her. Poe continued to lead by the flickering light of a dying flashlight.
It got colder the deeper they walked, but Lyra could barely feel any of it. Her senses were numbed and subdued. A glance at her hands was a near fatal mistake; crimson blood covered them.
"No," she heard Poe lament as they came to the opening of the narrow corridor. "No, no, no!"
All that waited for them was a pile of rounded, smooth boulders and some residual crystal glowing orange in the walls. Poe started to climb, but he slid back down when he realized that it was a dead end. Bee rolled out of the way as Poe landed firmly on the ground.
He turned around. "Okay, any ideas? I'm taking any at this point, good or bad."
"Wait," Finn told him, stopping and frowning at the ground.
"Wait?" Poe repeated. "Wait is a word, not an idea--"
"Just wait," Finn said with uncertainty. "I think she's here, just outside the boulders. I think--I think I can sense it?"
The rocks began to lift. One by one and with effortless grace, the light filled the darkness of the tunnel. It illuminated every crack and crevice as the veil was lifted, and at the center of all of it stood Rey, face contorted in deep concentration. Her eyes flew open and she looked around her, amazed at the feat.
But still, Lyra saw past the power. All she saw was Rey, the girl that had saved her life in the Jakku desert not so long ago.
Finn rushed forward blindly. As the rocks fell to the ground, he tackled Rey in his arms and held her close. Her relieved smile was just barely visible over his shoulder. Both of them were bruised and bloody from what they had just endured, but they were together again. That was all that mattered.
-ˋˏ★ˎˊ-
...AHCH TO, UNKNOWN REGIONS
"The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi."
Luke Skywalker sat cross-legged on a rock he had grown to loathe. It was a meditation stone turned catalyst for an act of war. As Luke withdrew from the Force projection, it took all he had left to keep from tumbling over.
A long time ago, he had looked at two twin suns and thought that he could change the galaxy on his own. He had been young enough to think that heroes were just heroes and wars were won in a day. Even though he wasn't so young anymore, the part of him that had hope was still alive.
Luke Skywalker would not be the last Jedi.
Not even close.
-ˋˏ★ˎˊ-
...CRAIT, OUTER RIM
𝐋𝐘𝐑𝐀 was the last person inside the Falcon.
She stood at the edge, leaning on the hydraulics of the ramp and looking out at the salt and snow. Her arms shook, head pounded, body begging for some relief. There was none to be found.
I'll never leave you. How many times had that promise been made and broken? She was not innocent; she had said the words before, too. This time might be one of the few exceptions.
Inside at the holo chess table, Lyra sat next to Rey. Neither of them said much, sitting in fresh silence as people filtered back and forth around the ship. Poe clapped a pilot on the shoulder, making his rounds and checking in with everyone that remained. Finn was on the other side of the room tending to Rose with Harter Kalonia. There was even word drifting around that they had received another transmission from the Outer Rim.
Leia stepped away from Lando and made her way over to the table.
Rey looked dejected at the two halves of the lightsaber that had belonged to Anakin Skywalker, then to Luke, and now to her. She held them in her hands, fingers brushing over the exposed kyber crystal.
"I felt it. He's gone, isn't he?" Rey asked, voice wavering. She glanced up at Leia for confirmation.
Instead of answering, Leia just looked to her niece.
"No," Lyra said firmly. After everything, she still felt the connection. Luke Skywalker was alive. Tired, exhausted, but very much alive. "He's not gone."
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
-ˋˏ *.·:·. ★ .·:·.* ˎˊ-
𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄
· : . -ˋˏ * ˎˊ- . : ·
a/n sorry about that cliffhanger on the last chapter and all but um surprise!!! Luke Skywalker is very much not dead. I told you guys a long time ago that this was my own au, and as we close out the Last Jedi, I want to tell you that I was never going to k*ll off Luke lmao. So to everyone that has ever begged me for luke and lyra to get some screen time, you're welcome!! there will be much more to come :) this is obviously going to have some drastic implications on the rest of the story 💃
the fourth act!! arguably my favorite and the one that adheres the least to canon. I'm so excited for you guys to read it and I'm so so thankful that you've stuck with me for 57 chapters and counting 🤍
next update will be on schedule! sometimes I take extra time after acts to get my thoughts together, but this time it won't be needed :) I'm working on a new fic that's outside of the star wars universe (topgun, anyone?), but phoenix is always my first priority ❤️🔥
much love,
nat