"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak."
∫
Kylo swung his lightsaber at Elara but she quickly deflected it with her own. The two clashed back and forth, each trying to strike down the other. Elara put all her weight onto one foot and spun around, knocking Kylo to the ground. He was quick to get up, pouncing on her like a wild animal and brought Elara to her end.
His forehead was covered with sweat and pressed up against hers. "You've gotten better."
Elara smirked. "You make it sound like I wasn't good to begin with."
He helped her up with his gloved hand. "You weren't good to be begin with." He confirmed. "But not many people are good at nine."
"Except you?"
"Except me."
Hux interrupted them by clearing his throat. His icy eyes scanned over them, judging them silently. "Sobek-Re has entered the Resistance's system."
"Thank you General." Elara replied.
He nodded his head. "Ma'am."
"Anything else?" Kylo questioned, glaring at Hux.
"Snoke wants to know when you plan to interrogate the girl." Hux explained.
"Whenever I please." Kylo told him, placing his lightsaber on his belt. "She isn't going anywhere."
Hux looked at Elara and Kylo one final time before leaving, continuing on with his usual eventless day.
"Elara?" Kylo muttered, his voice almost weak. "I have been meaning to ask you something."
Elara looked up at him, her gaze gentle and soft.
"As far as I know, Jude's first name is Ben." The name tasted sour on his tongue. "I assume that Bellamy doesn't have a secret first name but a middle name?"
"That is correct." She sighed. "I don't think you'll like it that much."
"It can't be much worse than Ben." He shivered.
"Leia." Elara whispered. "Bellamy Leia Jane Solo."
"I don't know why you continue to title them with my father's name." Kylo seethed. "That name belongs to a smuggler."
"That name belongs to a hero." Elara fought back. "You have gotten everything you wanted Kylo Ren. Me, our children, a feared title throughout the galaxy but Solo stays."
He was about to yell at her, fight her even but something inside of him clicked, something light. He was unable to identify what had just happened but Elara knew all too well. When his body hunched over and his grim face dropped, it was obvious that the light side had just made a reappearance to him once more.
"Alright." He answered, biting his lip. "Solo stays."
Elara immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. "I missed this."
"Our petty arguments?" He bellowed, clearly consumed by the partial light inside of him.
"That, and having you beside me." Elara's thoughts wandered.
"Oh please Elara." He grunted. "We aren't the kind to do that typical romance shit."
Elara snorted. "No, I suppose not."
A stormtrooper, whom Elara had yet to learn the name of interrupted them. Elara sensed the pure terror rushing through the troopers veins as he continued his walk towards them. "Lord Ren?"
"What now?"
"Snoke demands you interrogate the prisoner before we begin to charge the weapon." The stormtrooper spoke. "He wants you to get the map to Skywalker out of her."
Elara's breath hitched. "What's the rush?"
Kylo excused the stormtrooper with a simple nod before turning to Elara. "The longer we wait, the more likely the Resistance has begun discovering the map to Skywalker."
"Weapon?" Elara questioned, stepping away from Kylo. "What weapon?"
"The weapon this planet is made for." Kylo explained like it was obvious. "We destroyed the entire Republic with it."
"You destroyed an entire system?" Elara gaped, her hands becoming frigid.
"This is what we want." He snapped, also bringing Elara to her senses.
"Right." Elara coughed, blinking rapidly so she would not cry. "What will the next target be?"
"D'Qar."
Elara stumbled slightly, her vision blurring. "You want to kill our children?"
"Why else would I send a bounty hunter to retrieve them?" Kylo sneered. "Of course I wouldn't kill my own children!"
"But your parents have no exception?" Elara seethed through her teeth, balling her fists until her knuckles went white.
"We will talk about this later!" Kylo declared. "Go up to my room and wait for me."
"What if I don't want to?" Elara yelled back.
"Don't even think about it sweetheart."
∫
In the silence of Kylo's room, Elara found herself navigating her way though her plan. Would it work? Well, Elara was never one to have Plan A succeed. She had discovered that love was truly both a blindness and a weakness but also a strength. To her benefit, Kylo was the one being weakened and blinded while she basked in pure strength and power. It was simple manipulation, she would join the First Order and do whatever she had to do so her superiors would believe her transition. When Sobek-Re returns with Bellamy and Jude, she would (hopefully) by then have complete power over Kylo and convert him over to the light side once again. She was only half lying, she did love him but she didn't love what side he was playing for.
In her silence, something from beyond the graves had presented himself in front of her. Her skin prickled with goosebumps and a sudden wave of cold hit her out of nowhere. The aura inside the room was suddenly brisk and clean, mistakenly beautiful.
Elara couldn't help but gape in pure adrenalin as Anakin Skywalker appeared before her, youthful and light. She squinted her eyes and immediately got on her knees, bowing before him.
"You need my help." Anakin told her.
"Anakin Skywalker..." She tried to piece words together but she was completely shocked.
"Take your time, we have all day." One thing about Anakin Skywalker specifically and not Darth Vader, was that his sarcasm never died.
"Sorry-" She panicked. "It's just, your my children's great grandfather and all."
He frowned slightly, placing a ghostly arm around her. "You need my help and I am here to give it to you. I am afraid your plan will not prevail without my guidance."
"Have you ever spoken to Ben?" She quickly asked.
He shook his head. "He has become too far gone and I cannot save him."
"He is walking in your footsteps." Elara explained but he already knew. "If you could just tell him that this isn't what you wanted, everything would be solved!"
"The force works in mysterious ways and life would be so much easier if I could do that." He motioned for Elara to walk towards the window with him.
"Tell me." She pleaded. "Help me save him."
"I have seen the future Elara." He sighed, his eyes gorgeously old and wise. "We can't change the future but I can show you the past and the present."
"Anakin?" Elara uttered. "Don't tell me Ben dies."
"I can't tell you the future Elara but I can pinpoint the events in the past and present that could mirror your future." He offered his hand. "Take it."
Elara placed her hand in Anakin's cold one and was immediately transported to another domain, another world, another life.