For allbingo
Dec. 19th, 2021 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianTitle: Fixed Points
Summary: What did Luke see in Ben Solo’s mind the night he nearly killed him?
Prompt: Betrayal
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: Call this a bit of “you just got this now?!” I had.
There were certain things that Luke Skywalker saw in Ben Solo’s mind the night that he nearly killed him. Five things. They were effective enough to stir Luke into nearly killing him, even though he ultimately didn’t do it.
There always were the seeds of Luke Skywalker doing the wrong thing. On the second Death Star, when he was dueling Darth Vader, there was always the threat of him falling to the Dark Side, if only because of the whole idea of his friends dying, of his mission failing. It had nearly led him to slip up, it had nearly led him to fall and take on the mantle of a Sith (though Obi-Wan and Yoda hadn’t framed it in those terms at the time).
He had managed to resist it in time because of, ironically, Palpatine’s gloating and goading. In the dark, in the shadows of Ben Solo’s room, Luke didn’t have the reminder of Palpatine’s voice to remind him to resist.
He nearly slipped.
***
He saw Poe Dameron, first of all. The Republic pilot strapped to some sort of torture chair, struggling against some sort of mental intrusion. Han, skewered through the chest by some sort of cross-shaped lightsaber. Leia, on her deathbed, fading into the Force. Himself, staring into the Twin Suns of Tatooine before ultimately fading away.
It was the horrifying idea of Ben Solo being the downfall of the Skywalker line, of the Jedi Order, of everything and everyone Luke loved that caused Luke to feel a sort of horror that only mirrored the interior of the Second Death Star.
Leia, his sister, becoming Sith…
It was easy to justify igniting his lightsaber then.
***
It would have been easy to just end it right there. Prevent another darkness. He could hear the voices in his mind, whispering, beckoning to him, coaxing him to just end the traitor right then and there, the traitor that slept soundly, peacefully, in his bed — like he didn’t even care about what was happening to him, or like he was used to the visions that plagued his mind. It would be better that way, wouldn’t it, Luke thought, and the voices in his mind seemed to tug at him, howl in voices of their own…
Except in the end, Luke found, he couldn’t do it.
In the end, he found, it was unthinkable. After all, this was Han and Leia’s son. This was his nephew. How could he even think of killing him? How could he even think of just skewering Ben like he was nothing?
What had just happened to him? Luke shuddered to think. What had he nearly done? This wasn’t him. This was against everything he stood for. Everything. He was someone who redeemed people, helped people. He had given Vader a chance…
Why couldn’t he give Ben this chance, when Ben (his dear nephew) had done nothing?
Luke was frozen for a moment. So sickened by what he’d nearly done that he forgot to turn off his lightsaber. Later, on Ach-To, when he really thought about it, one thing he wished he could undo was forgetting to turn his lightsaber off. The green glow still haunted him in his flashbacks, the bright green shine of it that illuminated Ben’s look of horror — of incomprehension.
He didn’t know exactly what he was thinking when he said, “Ben, no!” What was he about to say? That he could explain? That he didn’t hate Ben?
He had no idea what he was about to say before the hut collapsed on him.
Summary: What did Luke see in Ben Solo’s mind the night he nearly killed him?
Prompt: Betrayal
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: Call this a bit of “you just got this now?!” I had.
There were certain things that Luke Skywalker saw in Ben Solo’s mind the night that he nearly killed him. Five things. They were effective enough to stir Luke into nearly killing him, even though he ultimately didn’t do it.
There always were the seeds of Luke Skywalker doing the wrong thing. On the second Death Star, when he was dueling Darth Vader, there was always the threat of him falling to the Dark Side, if only because of the whole idea of his friends dying, of his mission failing. It had nearly led him to slip up, it had nearly led him to fall and take on the mantle of a Sith (though Obi-Wan and Yoda hadn’t framed it in those terms at the time).
He had managed to resist it in time because of, ironically, Palpatine’s gloating and goading. In the dark, in the shadows of Ben Solo’s room, Luke didn’t have the reminder of Palpatine’s voice to remind him to resist.
He nearly slipped.
***
He saw Poe Dameron, first of all. The Republic pilot strapped to some sort of torture chair, struggling against some sort of mental intrusion. Han, skewered through the chest by some sort of cross-shaped lightsaber. Leia, on her deathbed, fading into the Force. Himself, staring into the Twin Suns of Tatooine before ultimately fading away.
It was the horrifying idea of Ben Solo being the downfall of the Skywalker line, of the Jedi Order, of everything and everyone Luke loved that caused Luke to feel a sort of horror that only mirrored the interior of the Second Death Star.
Leia, his sister, becoming Sith…
It was easy to justify igniting his lightsaber then.
***
It would have been easy to just end it right there. Prevent another darkness. He could hear the voices in his mind, whispering, beckoning to him, coaxing him to just end the traitor right then and there, the traitor that slept soundly, peacefully, in his bed — like he didn’t even care about what was happening to him, or like he was used to the visions that plagued his mind. It would be better that way, wouldn’t it, Luke thought, and the voices in his mind seemed to tug at him, howl in voices of their own…
Except in the end, Luke found, he couldn’t do it.
In the end, he found, it was unthinkable. After all, this was Han and Leia’s son. This was his nephew. How could he even think of killing him? How could he even think of just skewering Ben like he was nothing?
What had just happened to him? Luke shuddered to think. What had he nearly done? This wasn’t him. This was against everything he stood for. Everything. He was someone who redeemed people, helped people. He had given Vader a chance…
Why couldn’t he give Ben this chance, when Ben (his dear nephew) had done nothing?
Luke was frozen for a moment. So sickened by what he’d nearly done that he forgot to turn off his lightsaber. Later, on Ach-To, when he really thought about it, one thing he wished he could undo was forgetting to turn his lightsaber off. The green glow still haunted him in his flashbacks, the bright green shine of it that illuminated Ben’s look of horror — of incomprehension.
He didn’t know exactly what he was thinking when he said, “Ben, no!” What was he about to say? That he could explain? That he didn’t hate Ben?
He had no idea what he was about to say before the hut collapsed on him.
